LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- A day after Indiana U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said his comments on rape and abortion during this week's debate were misunderstood, Kentucky's top tea party member swept in with some expensive damage control.
Senator Rand Paul plans to shake up the race, and told WDRB about it first: "You're the first one to hear about it. We're purchasing six figures in Indiana with an ad on foreign aid talking about how Congressman Donnelly voted to continue foreign aid to these countries that are burning our flag, and I don't think that's what the people of Indiana or any state want."
The ad is very similar to one that Senator Paul is already running against West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. It's expected to hit the airwaves in Indiana Friday, funded by Paul's multi-million dollar political action group.
The hope is to wipe the controversial statement on rape and pregnancy he made this week from voters' minds: "Life is that gift from God, and I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something that God intended to happen."
U of L political science professor Dewey Clayton, though, says, "I think it's going to be damaging his Senate race, to be honest with you...This is not something that you want this close to the election."
With elections less than two weeks away, Republican Richard Mourdock and Democrat Joe Donnelly's U.S. Senate race is one of the most closely watched in the nation. The GOP needs to pick up four seats to gain control of the Senate.
Recently, women's health issues have hit the forefront in Indiana. The state tried to block Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood.
President Obama capitalized on the controversy at a campaign stop Thursday morning in Florida, saying, "I don't think any politician in Washington, most of whom are male, should be making healthcare decisions for women."
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney endorses Mourdock, but released a statement saying he doesn't support his remarks.
Paul hopes this ad will turn voters' attention back to the economy: "I think Mourdock is a great candidate and he will be a great U.S. Senator. I think what's most important is really the deficit and you got to have people who will cut spending."
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