May 08, 2012 12:43 AM UTC

Tea Party to Claim Another Hide?

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• by: Colorado Pols

Indiana Republican Sen. Dick Lugar hasn’t won re-election with less than 67% of the vote since 1982. No current Republican has served in the Senate longer than Lugar, who was first elected in 1977.

But as we previewed last year, it looks like Lugar will lose a primary tomorrow against State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, ostensibly because he’s just not “conservative enough” for the right wing.

Lugar would have been a shoo-in for re-election in November without a GOP primary, but Republicans may have trouble defeating Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly with Mourdock as their nominee. Polling in late March showed Lugar with a 21-point advantage over Donnelly, while Mourdock was dead-even with the Democrat.

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: The Tea Party may end up being the worst thing that ever happened to the Republican Party.