Tagged: Indiana

Republican Congressman Todd Young of Indiana has raised $311,000 in the second quarter, according to a report his campaign will file with the Federal Election Commission later this week.

The new report means the freshman lawmaker has more than $893,000 in cash on hand for his re-election bid against Democrat Shelli Yoder. Since winning office in 2010, Young has become a solid fundraiser who has touted a strong conservative message.

"If you look at our numbers over 80 percent of our contributions are coming from individuals and over 80 percent of that are coming from Indiana," says Young campaign manager Trevor Foughty. "What we think that shows is we really have tapped into the pulse of the district and people are buying into our message. It's the private sector and its individual Americans that are going to lead our way out of this recession. It's not a trust in government to spend our way out."

In the Indiana Senate race, Democratic candidate Joe Donnelly has launched a new ad criticizing Republican Richard Mourdock for rejecting compromise.

The 30-second spot features Donnelly on a basketball court coaching a group of children with a message of teamwork and a Mourdock impersonator heckling the congressman from the bleachers.

"You know, nothing gets done by yelling from the bleachers," says Donnelly. "It’s time for Hoosier common sense."

In the Indiana Senate race, the campaign for Democrat Joe Donnelly announced it has raised $900,000 in the second quarter.

The total is an improvement for the Indiana congressman, who faces Republican Richard Mourdock in the general election this fall. Donnelly had been reporting lackluster fundraising totals for a Senate candidate during the primary, which worried state Democrats.

In the Indiana governor's race, Democrat John Gregg is continuing to bash Republican Mike Pence over controversial remarks comparing the Supreme Court's health care ruling to the terror attacks of September 11.

The Gregg campaign is touting an interview Pence did with a local television station in Indianapolis, which asked him to clarify his original comment. But the congressman refuses to tell reporters what the initial remarks were.

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Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has accepted the presidency of Purdue University, starting when his term is over in January. The Indianapolis Star's Mary Beth Schneider said the move had been rumored for a while, but the  idea of Mitch Daniels not being involved in partisan politics is hard for many to imagine. "The thought of the Indiana Republican landscape without Mitch Daniels as an active player is hard to get used to," she says, "and I think it's hard for him to get used to too." Schneider joined us on Friday's Byline to talk about the move's possible impact on Indiana politics.