Indiana Tea Party activists have set their sights on a political institution — Sen. Richard Lugar —contending that the six-term Republican senator has strayed from conservative values.
The challenge to the 79-year-old Lugar is expected to be formalized Saturday, when many of the state’s Tea Party and “patriot” groups meet in Greenfield, Ind., at an event aimed at promoting a challenger in next year’s GOP primary.
Taking on Lugar, who has such standing that he faced no opposition in 2006, is a bold move and one that could backfire and create an opening for a Democrat to win the seat, some observers say.
“Indiana is a microcosm of the current conflict in America between establishment Republicans and Tea Party activists,” said Robert Schmuhl, a professor of American Studies and Journalism at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. “You see this (in this Senate race). But how coordinated and organized these activists might be bears scrutiny, as 2012 approaches.”
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