Mourdock wins inaugural straw poll

GREENFIELD, Ind. (WISH) - Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock beat out incumbent Senator Richard Lugar 96-1 to win the Indiana Tea Party Convention Straw Poll. It was the first state-wide meeting of its kind for Tea Party activists in Indiana.

The dozens of Tea Party-affiliated groups from around the state were asked to send two delegates to Saturday’s convention in downtown Greenfield. Out of the 97 delegates who attended, 96 voted in favor of Mourdock and 1 voted in favor of Lugar.

Both candidates were invited to give a four minute stump speech at the event. Senator Lugar did not respond to the invitation. Treasurer Mourdock obliged – taking the stage around 10:30am.

“We must change the tax code” bellowed Mourdock from the stage, just minutes before delegates cast their votes. “We must get the boot of government off the necks of small businesses!”

Mourdock’s candor and small-government message brought the delegates to their feet in a standing ovation. They responded by overwhelmingly supporting him as the favored candidate of Tea Party groups around the state.

The Straw Poll was almost one year in the making. In October 2011, Monica Boyer approached Greg Fettig with the idea to unify the scattered Tea Party groups around the state for one singular goal, to elect a conservative senator to send to Washington. Ten months later, the HJ Ricks Centre for the Arts was filled with Tea Party delegates.

“Today from around the state we have with us 55 Tea Party groups represented by two delegates for their voting contingency,” said convention co-chair Greg Fettig.

“This is actually the launch of a campaign,” says convention co-chair Monica Boyer. “Now we’ll move on to educating each of the groups around the state about what the candidates stand for.

The event comes on the heels of a comment by Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman who called the Tea Party ‘racist’ in an interview that aired Friday night with CNN’s Piers Morgan.

Morgan Freeman's words linger like weights on the shoulders of Tea Party favorite, Treasurer Mourdock.

“Well that's obviously a very sad comment. Its a comment from someone who has obviously never attended one of these events,” said Mourdock. "Mr. Freeman's a great actor but he doesn't understand, I don't think, what this political movement is about at all."

The Tea Party and its members have faced back-lash all along. For Reverend Carl Kelley, Associate Pastor of Phillips Temple CME Church in Indianapolis, he says his public alliance with the Tea Party has cost him a third of his congregation.

"Why wouldn't I affiliate with the Tea Party. I've been vilified at my church conferences and in my church because they say that's a racist allegation and I asked one thing: 'show me one racist component of who they are,” said Reverend Kelley.

Demographics have played a roll in the accusations. A Bloomberg National Poll showed that 79% are white, 61% are men and 44% identify as "born-again Christians". In general, Tea Party supporters are married, more conservative than the general population, and likely to be more wealthy and have more education.

But it's the message that compelled Monica Boyer to join the movement and organize this inaugural Straw Poll.

“It surprises me when I hear that. it hurts me. It really hurts me deeply, but you know. It's not {like that} here,” said Boyer.