Richard Mourdock

Richard Earl Mourdock (born October 8, 1951) is an American politician who served as treasurer of the state of Indiana from 2007 to 2014.

Mourdock graduated from Wynford High School in Bucyrus in 1969, earned a Bachelor of Science in natural systems from Defiance College in 1973 and a Master of Arts in geology from Ball State University in 1975.

After completing his education, Mourdock took a position as a field geologist 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 as a senior geologist and ultimately became chief geologist for the company.

In 1984, Mourdock accepted a position with Koester Companies in Evansville, Indiana.

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 (ESOP).

After leaving Koester, Mourdock founded and ran his own environmental consulting business, R. E. Mourdock & Associates.

Mourdock ran in 1988, 1990 and 1992 for the U.S. House of Representatives, seeking to represent Indiana's 8th congressional district.

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.

Mourdock later criticized Lugar's record on bipartisanship, his authorship of the 1991 Nunn-Lugar Act to secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union, and the 2006 expansion of the legislation to cover conventional weapons stockpiles and secure loose nukes.

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 won the nomination In 2004, Mourdock unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Vanderburgh County Council.

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.

He called Lugar "President Obama's favorite Republican", referring to an October 2008 MSNBC 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.

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, 62%–38%, receiving more than 1,000,000 votes.

On February 22, 2011, Mourdock announced he would challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Richard Lugar 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 and the START 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.

At a 2011 local tea party convention in Greenfield, Indiana, Mourdock received 96 of the 97 straw poll votes cast.

In the week before the primary, political action groups such as FreedomWorks, 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 C.L. Bryant and FOX News political commentator Michelle Malkin.

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.

Running with the support of the Tea Party movement, he defeated six-term incumbent U.S. Senator Richard Lugar in the May 2012 Republican primary election for U.S. Senate.

He lost the November 6, 2012 general election for Lugar's seat to Democratic congressman Joe Donnelly.

Mourdock was born in Wauseon, Ohio, 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 resigned from his position as treasurer on August 29, 2014, effective immediately.

Governor Mike Pence 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.