In a long-expected decision, the Club for Growth announced Tuesday it is endorsing state Treasurer Richard Mourdock in his challenge to unseat Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.
The fiscally conservative organization is headed by Chris Chocola, a former congressman in Indiana’s 2nd District. Chocola has been publicly critical of Lugar since at least last April, and his Washington, D.C.-based group ran TV ads in July that condemned the veteran senator for his support of federal aid to banks and automakers.
Chocola said Tuesday in a statement that Lugar has “voted for bigger government, more spending, and he even recently voted against a permanent ban on congressional pork. Richard Mourdock will vote to limit government, repeal ObamaCare, and will help bring back the jobs lost to the Obama’s economic policies.”
Mourdock is running against Lugar in the May 8 Republican primary election. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-2nd, is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Mourdock’s campaign has begun running cable TV ads chiding Lugar for favoring earmarks, notably Alaska’s “bridge to nowhere,” a rainforest in Iowa and a teapot museum.
In response, David Willkie, political director for Lugar’s campaign, said in a statement Monday, “If we get rid of congressional earmarks, we give (President) Obama and liberal bureaucrats total control over Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars.”
