Tagged: Indiana

Indiana's Republican Senate Primary is next Tuesday, and it's drawing national attention. For the first time in decades, Senator Richard Lugar is facing a primary challenger. The person opposing Lugar is State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, a conservative with backing from local and national Tea Party organizations. Despite the fact that Lugar has maintained a very conservative voting record since entering the Senate in 1977, Mourdock and his supporters say Lugar is out of touch with ordinary Indiana voters, and not conservative enough for many Indiana Republicans.

Republican leaders in Indiana are trying to decide how they’ll handle allegations that a US Senate campaign tried to access a critical database of voter information. The dispute concerns the GOP primary race between long-time incumbent Richard Lugar and State Treasurer Richard Mourdock.

The Indiana Senate is expected to take up a proposed statewide smoking ban this week. For the first time in six years, a House-passed smoking ban has advanced past the Senate committee level.

The Public Policy Committee voted 8-2 last week for the measure after hearing some four hours of public testimony.

Indianapolis-area tavern owner Wanda Goodpastor told the panel a ban would harm her business, as 80-percent of her customers are smokers.