Mourdock Calls Out Efforts To Get Democrats To Vote For Lugar

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The Mourdock campaign is calling out efforts by the Young Guns Network, a group run by former top aides to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, to get Democrats and independents to vote for Sen. Richard Lugar in Indiana’s upcoming Republican Senate primary. 

The YG Network is sinking $100,000 into protecting the incumbent Lugar, including targeting non-Republicans. A direct mail piece from the group praises Lugar as someone who “puts our children’s education first.” 

In an email blasting Lugar and his “Washington establishment allies,” Mourdock spokesperson Chris Conner said, “In yet another act of desperation to stem his precipitous drop in the polls, Lugar and his Washington establishment allies are now courting non-Republicans to vote in the GOP Primary on May 8th.” All of this activity to convince non-Republicans to participate in the Republican primary begs a simple question for Senator Lugar: will he pledge to support the Republican nominee for Senate if it is not him?”

Enlisting independents and opposing party members to participate in an open primary is a strategy that’s been tried before, by Rick Santorum, among others. Santorum targeted Democrats with robocalls, telling them to send a “loud message” to Romney by voting for Santorum in certain states.

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