GOP primaries

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said Monday that big-name conservative super-PACs have singled her out and are trying to stop her from winning a second term in the Senate.

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Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) will roll out two heavy-hitting surrogates in his next round of ads: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Daniels is one of the most popular politicians in Indiana, and is especially beloved by the Republican base. He told The Hill in September that Lugar was a "mentor," "icon" and "extraordinary public servant" — his support could help Lugar in a big way.

McCain, on the other hand, lost the state in his 2008 presidential run and has never been popular with the movement conservatives who usually vote in low-turnout Senate primaries.

Lugar is battling for his political survival against Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R), who has the clear momentum in the race. A poll released by Mourdock's campaign on Wednesday showed the two tied, whereas in a nonpartisan poll from last week, Lugar still had a seven-point edge.

This post was updated at 5:52 p.m.

Jesse Kelly, an Iraq war veteran and project manager, edged out three other Republicans vying to finish Giffords's term.

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) Tuesday, a major victory for the embattled senator.

Lugar is facing off in a May primary against Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R), who has run hard to his right and has the backing of some heavy-hitting outside groups, including the National Rifle Association and the fiscally conservative Club for Growth. A recent poll showed Lugar with a narrow lead in the race.

"We're endorsing Senator Lugar because of his proven record and ability to get things done in support of Indiana job creation and economic growth," said Chamber Vice President Rob Engstrom in a statement.

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GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s biggest donor contributed $5 million with his wife to a Republican super-PAC.

Sheldon and Miriam Adelson donated the money to the Congressional Leadership Fund in February, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show. The Congressional Leadership Fund is a conservative super-PAC that is not earmarked to support or oppose a single candidate.

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I'm not going to put any pressure on Rick, but I'd love his endorsement," the former House Speaker told reporters Saturday.

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Cantor may face tough questions from rank-and-file lawmakers upset over a $25,000 donation to group dedicated to ousting incumbents.

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Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock raised $875,000 in the last three months for his Senate campaign, more than double what he's brought in during any previous fundraising quarter and significantly more than Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) raised.

Lugar raised $820,000, a strong haul, and maintains a big cash advantage over Mourdock with $2.5 million in the bank to Mourdock's $430,000. But Mourdock's fundraising haul is the latest sign he has some momentum in the race.

Still, Mourdock will be outspent by the groups that are supporting him — in a big way. The Club for Growth has already spent more than $600,000 on the race, according to a recent Federal Election Commission filing, and the National Rifle Association is already into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On the other side, the American Action Network, which backs establishment Republicans, is spending more than a half-million dollars defending Lugar.

Mourdock's performance will reassure conservatives who are unhappy with Lugar that his challenger is a viable alternative in the race.

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Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) sounded a lot more confident than Sen. Richard Lugar's (R-Ind.) staff about how he'll do at Wednesday night's Senate debate between the two.

Neither is known as a great public speaker — and neither has had to do much public debating in the past.

After downplaying the importance of the debate, Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher admitted the senator was not great at giving concise responses.

"It's not Lugar's strongest suit to have a short answer response to a dozen or so questions," he told The Hill earlier this week.

But while Lugar's campaign sought to downplay how strong he'd be, Mourdock sounded a confident note.

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