33 Facts About Richard Mourdock

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

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

Richard Mourdock was born in Wauseon, Ohio, the son of Dolores Elaine and David Lee Richard Mourdock.

Richard Mourdock's father worked as an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper.

Richard 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.

From 1979 to 1984, Richard Mourdock was employed by Standard Oil of Ohio as a senior geologist and ultimately became chief geologist for the company.

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

For sixteen years, Richard Mourdock served as vice president of the company's coal subsidiary and eventually became vice president of business development for the parent company.

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

From 1995 to 2002, Richard Mourdock served two terms as an elected member of Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners, the county's executive governing body.

Richard Mourdock resigned from his position as treasurer on August 29,2014, effective immediately.

Richard Mourdock's resignation came on the last day that state employees could retire before cuts to pension benefits took effect in September 2014.

At the announcement, Richard 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.

Richard Mourdock said Indiana needed a senator who would return home to hold town halls, and not "a globe-trotting Senator", like Lugar.

Richard 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.

At the time he announced his candidacy, Richard 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.

Richard Mourdock spoke at over two dozen local tea party gatherings across Indiana where he gained name recognition and support.

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

Richard Mourdock's victory was attributed in part to voter dissatisfaction with Lugar's moderate record as well as his absence from Indiana; he had not had a residence in the state since 1977.

Richard Mourdock faced Democratic nominee Joe Donnelly and Libertarian nominee Andy Horning in the general election.

Richard Mourdock said that if elected to the Senate, he would limit himself to two terms.

Richard Mourdock had been endorsed by several conservative interest groups, including the Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, Citizens United, and the Tea Party Express, the NRA Political Victory Fund, and Indiana Right to Life.

Richard Mourdock believed the age of eligibility for Medicare should be increased from 65 to 67.

Richard Mourdock believed Social Security should be reformed to allow younger workers to invest in personalized retirement accounts.

One week after the remark, Richard Mourdock was greeted enthusiastically by the attendees of a semiannual dinner for prominent Indiana Republican officials and supporters.

Richard Mourdock lost to Donnelly by almost 6 percent in the general election.

Richard Mourdock called for cuts in federal spending and for a balanced budget.

On his website, Richard Mourdock supported the Ryan Path to Prosperity Plan.

However, Richard Mourdock has said that "'Ryan's overall budget proposal might not go far enough, fast enough"; Richard Mourdock would have liked to shrink government spending by $7.6 trillion in 10 years, as opposed to Ryan's budget which would cut $5.5 trillion.

Richard Mourdock said he would not have supported the Troubled Assets Relief Program and opposed the bailout of GM and Chrysler, which included measures causing losses to secured bondholders in retirement funds that he managed as treasurer.

Richard Mourdock opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants and opposes the DREAM Act.

In February 2012, Richard Mourdock told the Conservative Political Action Conference that bipartisanship has nearly bankrupted the country, and that confrontation, not collegiality was needed.

Richard Mourdock is a longtime active member of the non-denominational evangelical Christian Fellowship Church in Evansville and made a number of Christian missionary trips through his church to Bolivia.