Dick Lugar's ouster: Did the Tea Party cost the GOP the Senate?

Indiana's 35-year incumbent senator was defeated by a Tea Party-backed candidate in Tuesday's GOP primary, and that could spell big trouble for Republicans

Lugar arrives for a full Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in 2006: The longtime Indiana senator's primary loss could leave Republicans just shy of the seats they need to take over t
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Tea Party notched its biggest win since 2010 — and perhaps ever — on Tuesday, unseating longtime Sen. Dick Lugar (R) in Indiana's Republican primary election. Replacing Lugar on November's ballot will be state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who was backed by local Tea Party groups and a range of deep-pocketed conservative outside groups. The moderate Lugar, who's been in the Senate since 1977, was considered a shoo-in for the general election, while the relatively unknown conservative Mourdock faces a tough fight against Rep. Joe Donnelly (D). Republicans need to pick up four seats to gain control of the Senate. Has the Tea Party put that majority out of reach by endangering a once-safe seat?

Democrats really could take Lugar's seat: Tea Partiers, the NRA, and other pro-GOP groups just handed the Democrats a huge gift, says Melinda Henneberger at The Washington Post. Donnelly has a real shot at beating the divisive Mourdock, and some polls even show him starting the race with a slim lead. Yes, Indiana is pretty conservative, but as "a pro-gun, pro-life, pro-Keystone pipeline, anti-illegal immigration, and anti-climate change legislation Blue Dog, Donnelly has a lot in common with Lugar" — without Lugar's baggage.

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