Indiana Senate race: First reactions to Democrat Joe Donnelly's victory

Democrat Joe Donnelly has to be feeling good: He beat Republican Richard Mourdock, who was once a heavy favorite in Indiana&#039;s Senate race.

(Image credit: AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

last updated 8 January 2015

In Indiana, Rep. Joe Donnelly (D) has narrowly edged out Tea Party-backed state treasurer Richard Mourdock in one of this year's most closely watched Senate races. According to the latest figures, Donnelly has 48.3 percent to Mourdock's 45.7 percent, leading Fox News and Bloomberg News to call the race for Donnelly.

Mourdock, a Tea Party favorite who ousted moderate incumbent Richard Lugar in the primary, was widely seen as the frontrunner — until an Oct. 23 debate in which he was asked a question about whether rape victims should be allowed to get abortions. Mourdock said that "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen." The Republican quickly found himself in the center of a media firestorm, forcing him to backtrack on his comments the next day. "Are you trying to suggest that somehow I think God ordained or pre-ordained rape?" Mourdock asked. "No, I don't think that anyone could suggest that. That's sick, twisted — no, that's not even close to what I said." Prior to the controversy, Mourdock had hammered Donnelly, a Blue Dog Democrat, for his support of ObamaCare, while Donnelly framed his opponent as too conservative to represent Indiana in the Senate.