Lugar’s fellow Indiana Republicans will not back his reelection bid

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The Hill:

It wasn’t that long ago that Rep. Mike Pence called Sen. Dick Lugar his “hero,” but now Pence, like several other Indiana Republicans, is staying neutral as Lugar faces one of the toughest primary challenges of his career.

Pence told The Hill on Tuesday that he still considers Lugar (R-Ind.) “a mentor and a friend,” but that he’s staying out of next year’s GOP Senate primary.

“I’ve known both men and respected both men for more than 20 years, and I think that when you have two good choices in a primary, you ought to let voters decide,” he said. “I consider Richard Lugar a mentor and a friend, and Richard Mourdock is someone I have admired as well.”
Mourdock, the Indiana state Treasurer, entered the primary in late February to much fanfare, rolling out the backing of a majority of GOP county chairmen from across the state. He’s also a favorite of the Tea Party movement, which has named Lugar as one of its top targets for 2012.

But Pence has always spoken well of the six-term senator. During a National Press Club event in 2006, he called Lugar “a hero of mine in Indiana.”