The Hotline notes the vastly different circumstances of two old bull Republican Senators: Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
“The
consensus around Sen. Richard Lugar’s re-election bid has changed
markedly, from all-out optimism that he would easily dispatch
challenger Richard Mourdock to downright pessimism, bordering on
resignation… Meanwhile, things keep looking better for Sen. Orrin
Hatch, R-Utah. He announced strong fundraising numbers this week — over
$3 million in the bank for a potential primary (former state Sen. Dan
Liljenquist has $242,000 after putting in $300,000 of his own money).
And it still seems possible he could avoid a primary altogether: a poll
his campaign released of convention delegates showed him with 61 percent
support, just above the 60 percent threshold needed to win the
nomination outright.”