Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock of Indiana said on Wednesday that Democrats will certainly attack him furiously over his comments about pregnancies caused by rape — and that the stakes are too high for the GOP to leave him hanging as Election Day approaches.
“They will certainly run negative, crazy TV commercials,” Mourdock told
Politico. “They’ll change themes. [But] we are at that time of the season, frankly, when I think people are almost tuning them out . . . I don’t know if they’re going to have much impact.”
During a debate with Democrat Joe Donnelly on Tuesday, Mourdock said: “I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” He added that he only supported abortion in cases that would save the life of the mother.
Mourdock apologized for the remark earlier on Wednesday. “I don’t think God wants rape,” he said.
But seeking to attract women voters, President Barack Obama’s campaign and other Democrats are trying to link Mourdock’s comment to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who stars in a television ad for the candidate.
A Romney spokesman has said that the former Massachusetts governor does not support Mourdock’s position.
Regardless, the Indiana seat is too critical for the GOP to not support him so close to the Nov. 6 election, Mourdock said. Donnelly’s strong campaign has caught party officials by surprise, Politico reports.
“This race is for the majority [of] the United States Senate,” Mourdock told Politico. “I’ve got a lot of . . . calls of encouragement” from Republican leaders. “They recognize this race is about more than one comment in one speech, it’s about 51 votes ultimately.”
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