Richard Mourdock: Senate Candidate’s Chances Of Winning Drop 50 Percent After Rape Comments

Richard Mourdock may think his comments that pregnancies resulting from rape are intended by God may not be hurting his chances to win the Senate seat in Indiana, but polls say otherwise.

In an interview this week, Mourdock told reporters that he believed the controversy over his comments would pass quickly and that he would actually gain voters because of it, Indy Star reported.

Now, the race that could determine control of the Senate appears to be tipping solidly in the Democrats’ favor. Democrats currently control 53 seats, including two independents who caucus with them, and to win control back Republicans would need to flip a few seats.

Now in Indiana they find themselves playing defense for seat once considered solid, the Yahoo! News blog The Signal noted. To earn the nomination, Richard Mourdock had to knock off incumbent Richard Lugar, who was favored to win re-election easily. After another Senate candidate, Todd Akin, made his own controversial comments that legitimate rape victims could not become pregnant, the damage caused by Mourdock’s comments could be too much for the GOP.

Richard Mourdock, who in a debate stated “even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen,” has plummeted in polls. Under The Signal‘s prediction model, his odds of victory have dropped 50 points in 36 hours.

Richard Mourdock does have the support of several high-ranking Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“We’re at the end of an election season here and I understand each side is looking to make hay out of every comment, but sharing the view of millions of Americans that life begins at conception is Richard’s deeply held personal belief that shouldn’t be misconstrued by partisans to imply something it does not,” McConnell said about Richard Mourdock’s rape comments.