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Richard Earl Mourdock (born October 8, 1951) is an American politician who served as treasurer of the state of
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...
from 2007 to 2014. Running with the support of the
Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...
, he defeated six-term incumbent
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar (April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in Indianapolis, Lugar graduated from De ...
in the May 2012 Republican
primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
for U.S. Senate. He lost the November 6, 2012 general election for Lugar's seat to Democratic
congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equival ...
Joe Donnelly Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy ...
.


Early life, education, and business career

Mourdock was born in
Wauseon, Ohio Wauseon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County, Ohio, approximately 31 mi (51 km) west of Toledo. The population was 7,332 at the time of the 2010 census. History Wauseon was platted 1853 when the Michigan Southern Air ...
, the son of Dolores Elaine (Bobel) and David Lee Mourdock. He grew up in Bucyrus, Ohio. His father worked as an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper. Mourdock graduated from Wynford High School in Bucyrus in 1969, earned a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
in natural systems from
Defiance College Defiance College is a private college located in Defiance, Ohio and affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The campus includes eighteen buildings and access to the Thoreau Wildlife Sanctuary. History The college began as Defiance Female ...
in 1973 and a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...
in
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
from
Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ba ...
in 1975. After completing his education, Mourdock took a position as a field
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...
with AMAX Coal Company and was working as Surface Mine Geology Project Coordinator the time of his departure from the company in 1979. From 1979 to 1984, Mourdock was employed by
Standard Oil of Ohio The Standard Oil Company (Ohio) was an American oil company, a successor of the original company established in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. It was established as "Standard Oil Company of Ohio" as one of the separate entities created after the ...
as a senior geologist and ultimately became chief geologist for the company. In 1984, Mourdock accepted a position with Koester Companies in
Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
. For sixteen years, Mourdock served as vice president of the company's coal subsidiary and eventually became vice president of business development for the parent company. In addition, Mourdock served as a trustee for the company's
employee stock ownership plan Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...
(ESOP). After leaving Koester, Mourdock founded and ran his own environmental consulting business, R. E. Mourdock & Associates.


Early political career (1988–2002)

Mourdock ran in 1988, 1990 and 1992 for the U.S. House of Representatives, seeking to represent
Indiana's 8th congressional district Indiana's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Based in southwest and west central Indiana, the district is anchored in Evansville and also includes Jasper, Princeton, Terre Haute, Vincennes and ...
. In 1988, he was defeated in the Republican primary. In 1990 and 1992, he won the Republican nomination but was defeated by Democrat Frank McCloskey in the general election, 55–45% and 53–45%, respectively. From 1995 to 2002, Mourdock served two terms as an elected member of Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners, the county's executive governing body. In 2002, Mourdock sought the Republican nomination for Indiana Secretary of State—a position chosen at the party's convention. In the three-way contest, Mourdock and fellow conservative Mike Delph split the conservative vote, with the result that the more moderate
Todd Rokita Theodore Edward Rokita (born February 9, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from from 2011 to 2019. A memb ...
won the nomination In 2004, Mourdock unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Vanderburgh County Council.


State Treasurer (2007–2014)

In 2006, he ran for Indiana treasurer, winning most of the counties in the northern portion of the state, and defeating Michael W. Griffin, 52%–48%. Mourdock began his first four-year term in February 2007. In 2009, in his role as state treasurer, he sued to stop the federal bailout of Chrysler, contending that the bailout plan violated U.S. bankruptcy law by giving more funds to unsecured creditors than it did secured creditors including three Indiana pension funds. Though the suit was unsuccessful, it helped Mourdock gain national recognition. Mourdock was re-elected in November 2010 against naval officer
Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transp ...
, 62%–38%, receiving more than 1,000,000 votes. Mourdock resigned from his position as treasurer on August 29, 2014, effective immediately. Governor
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50t ...
appointed chief financial officer and chief operating officer of the Indiana Finance Authority Daniel Huge to serve as interim treasurer. Mourdock's resignation came on the last day that state employees could retire before cuts to pension benefits took effect in September 2014.


2012 U.S. Senate election

On February 22, 2011, Mourdock announced he would challenge incumbent U.S. Senator
Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar (April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in Indianapolis, Lugar graduated from De ...
in the 2012 Republican primary. At the announcement, Mourdock criticized Lugar for his support of the auto bailouts, his votes in favor of the
DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States ...
and the
START Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air *Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *Str ...
treaty and his opposition to earmark reform. He said Indiana needed a senator who would return home to hold town halls, and not "a globe-trotting Senator", like Lugar. Mourdock later criticized Lugar's record on bipartisanship, his authorship of the 1991 Nunn-Lugar Act to secure and dismantle
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...
in the former Soviet Union, and the 2006 expansion of the legislation to cover
conventional weapon The terms conventional weapons or conventional arms generally refer to weapons whose ability to damage comes from kinetic, incendiary, or explosive energy and exclude weapons of mass destruction (''e.g.'' nuclear, biological, radiological and ...
s stockpiles and secure loose nukes. He called Lugar "President
Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's favorite Republican", referring to an October 2008
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...
article titled, "Barack Obama's favorite Republican?", which had described Lugar as a "loyal Republican" while reporting on a 10-day international trip Lugar and then-Senator Obama had taken in 2005 to inspect weapons sites. At the time he announced his candidacy, Mourdock released a list of 12 Republican state central committee members and 67 GOP county chairs who endorsed him; he soon began gathering tea party support as well. He spoke at over two dozen local tea party gatherings across Indiana where he gained name recognition and support. At a 2011 local tea party convention in
Greenfield, Indiana Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Indiana, United States, and a part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The population was 20,602 at the 2010 census, and an estimated 23,006 in 2019. It lies in Center Township. ...
, Mourdock received 96 of the 97 straw poll votes cast. In the week before the primary, political action groups such as
FreedomWorks FreedomWorks is a conservative and libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks trains volunteers, assists in campaigns, and encourages them to mobilize, interacting with both fellow citizens and their political representa ...
, the NRA, National Right to Life, and 45 local tea party groups held a get-out-the-vote rally for Mourdock that was attended by 500 tea party members along with
Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...
C.L. Bryant and
FOX News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is own ...
political commentator
Michelle Malkin Michelle Malkin (; Maglalang; born October 20, 1970) is an American conservative political commentator. She was a Fox News contributor and in May 2020 joined Newsmax TV. Malkin has written seven books and founded the conservative websites T ...
. Mourdock addressed the rally praising the support he had been given by FreedomWorks and similar groups, and adding that the tea party movement was very much alive "showing up to work for campaigns." During the primary campaign, tea party-backed organizations such as Liberty News Network and America ReFocused campaigned door to door, sent out mailers and helped sponsor TV and radio ads. Mourdock's largest contributor was the Club for Growth which accounted for 40% of all outside spending, contributing $2.2 million. According to campaign finance records, some of Mourdock's other top donors and the respective amounts they have contributed are the NRA, $491,000; Citizens United Political Victory Fund, $96,300; and FreedomWorks for America, $437,184. On May 8, 2012, Mourdock defeated Lugar in the primary, capturing just over 60% of the vote. Mourdock's victory was attributed in part to voter dissatisfaction with Lugar's moderate record as well as his absence from Indiana; he had not had a residence in the state since 1977. During his concession speech, Lugar criticized Mourdock for having an "unrelenting partisan mindset" and predicted he would be an ineffective legislator; Mourdock, in turn, praised Lugar's record of public service. Indiana political analyst Brian Howey ascribed Mourdock's primary win to Republican voters' belief that Lugar was too old and that he had been in Congress too long. Howey also said that "Just 15% ... voted for Mourdock because of his Tea Party ideology." Mourdock faced Democratic nominee
Joe Donnelly Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy ...
and Libertarian nominee Andy Horning in the general election. Mourdock said that if elected to the Senate, he would limit himself to two terms. Mourdock had been endorsed by several conservative interest groups, including the
Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States funded by Charles Koch and formerly his brother David. As the Koch brothers' primary political advocacy group, it is o ...
,
Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on cutting taxes and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are the billionaires Jeff Yass and Richar ...
,
FreedomWorks FreedomWorks is a conservative and libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks trains volunteers, assists in campaigns, and encourages them to mobilize, interacting with both fellow citizens and their political representa ...
, Citizens United, and the
Tea Party Express The Tea Party Express is a California-based group founded in the summer of 2009 to support the Tea Party movement. Founded as a national bus tour to rally Tea Party activists, the group's leadership also endorses and promotes conservative candidat ...
, the
National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...
(NRA), and Indiana Right to Life. During the general election campaign, millions of dollars were spent by outside groups supporting Mourdock and his opponent, Donnelly. Only three other U.S. Senate races reportedly attracted more outside money. Although Indiana is usually considered a Republican stronghold, Mourdock lost the general election to Democratic nominee
Joe Donnelly Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy ...
after the media attention over his comment in a debate that "life is that gift from God that I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."


Political positions


Social Security and Medicare

Mourdock has questioned the constitutionality of
Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
, Medicare, and
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
, saying to a group of supporters: "I challenge you in Article I, Section 8 of the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
where those so-called
enumerated powers The enumerated powers (also called expressed powers, explicit powers or delegated powers) of the United States Congress are the powers granted to the federal government of the United States by the United States Constitution. Most of these powers ...
are listed. I challenge you to find words that talk about Medicare or Medicaid or, yes, even Social Security." Mourdock did not support cutting benefits for current Medicare beneficiaries, but he did support a new
voucher A voucher is a bond of the redeemable transaction type which is worth a certain monetary value and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include housing, travel, and food vouchers. The term voucher is also a ...
plan for those under age 55. Mourdock also believed the age of eligibility for Medicare should be increased from 65 to 67. Mourdock believed Social Security should be reformed to allow younger workers to invest in personalized retirement accounts. and that it will be necessary to increase the retirement age to collect Social Security benefits.


Abortion

As a candidate for Congress in 1992, Mourdock supported legal abortion in the case of some "crisis pregnancies", but did not believe abortion should be used as a form of birth control. During his 2012 U.S. Senate race, he reiterated that he opposes abortion except to save the life of the mother. At an October 23, 2012, candidate debate, Mourdock explained why he is opposed to abortion even when the pregnancy is the result of rape:
I, too, certainly stand for life. I know there are some who disagree, and I respect their point of view. But I believe that life begins at conception. The only exception I have, to have an abortion, is in that case of the life of the mother. I've struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."
Dan Parker, chairman of the
Indiana Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Indiana is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Indiana. The Indiana Democratic Party currently holds two of Indiana's nine congressional seats. The party's chair is Mike Schmuhl. History and imp ...
, immediately attacked Mourdock, saying that, "I'm stunned and ashamed that Richard Mourdock believes God intended rape", and that he is an "extremist" who is out of touch with Indiana. Speculation that Mourdock's remark could affect the outcome of the Senate race centered on attempts to liken his comments to those of
Todd Akin William Todd Akin (July 5, 1947 – October 3, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in New York City, Akin grew up in the Greater St. Louis ...
. Responding to Parker, Mourdock issued a statement saying: "God creates life, and that was my point. God does not want rape, and by no means was I suggesting that he does. Rape is a horrible thing, and for anyone to twist my words otherwise is absurd and sick." He later added, "I believe God controls the universe. I don't believe biology works in an uncontrolled fashion." A number of Republican officials and candidates, including Sen.
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, called for him to issue an apology, but Mourdock refused. He instead aired a television ad titled "Leadership" several days after the comments stating that Democrats and Democratic PACs were "mocking Richard Mourdock's religious faith and twisting his words(...) playing politics and distracting from the real issues". One week after the remark, Mourdock was greeted enthusiastically by the attendees of a semiannual dinner for prominent Indiana Republican officials and supporters. Mourdock lost to Donnelly by almost 6 percent in the general election.


Federal spending

Mourdock called for cuts in federal spending and for a balanced budget. On his website, Mourdock supported the Ryan Path to Prosperity Plan. However, Mourdock has also said that "'Ryan's overall budget proposal might not go far enough, fast enough"; Mourdock would have liked to shrink government spending by $7.6 trillion in 10 years, as opposed to Ryan's budget which would cut $5.5 trillion. Mourdock said he would not have supported the Troubled Assets Relief Program and opposed the bailout of GM and Chrysler, which included measures causing losses to secured bondholders in retirement funds that he managed as treasurer. He pledged to abolish earmarks.


Immigration

Mourdock opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants and opposes the
DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal to grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, to illegal immigrants who entered the United States ...
.


Views on bipartisanship

In February 2012, Mourdock told the
Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; ) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU) ...
(CPAC) that bipartisanship has nearly bankrupted the country, and that confrontation, not collegiality was needed. In an interview on
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...
in May 2012 Mourdock said, "bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view...If we win the House, Senate, and White House, bipartisanship means they have to come our way". In the same interview he said, "To me, the highlight of politics, frankly, is to inflict my opinion on someone else." Republican
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gathe ...
Vice Presidential nominee
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the vice presidential nominee ...
later expressed his disagreement with Mourdock's statement, saying, "I obviously don't agree with that."


Personal life

Mourdock is a longtime active member of the non-denominational evangelical Christian Fellowship Church in
Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Indiana, ...
and made a number of Christian
missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being ...
trips through his church to
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
. He resides in
Darmstadt, Indiana Darmstadt is a small, German-heritage town primarily located in Scott Township, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. It also extends slightly into Armstrong, Center and German townships. The population was 1,407 at the 2010 census. Da ...
, a small town near Evansville, with his wife Marilyn.


Electoral history


References


External links


Richard Mourdock for US Senate
official campaign website * *
Financial information
at OpenSecrets.org , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mourdock, Richard 1951 births Activists from Ohio American energy industry executives American geologists Ball State University alumni County commissioners in Indiana Defiance College alumni Indiana Republicans State treasurers of Indiana Living people Politicians from Evansville, Indiana People from Wauseon, Ohio Tea Party movement activists People from Bucyrus, Ohio American evangelicals