Voters not hearing what they want in Senate race - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The race for U.S. Senate in Indiana has been a slugfest of negative ads. It's a dead heat, with both candidates fighting for undecided voters, who tell Eyewitness News they are not hearing what they want to know.

The relentless TV commercial attacks in the battle for Indiana's senate seat has voters feeling like campaign casualties.

"When I see the ads come on TV now, I just zone out," said Dave Foster, an unemployed father of two.

"This guy is saying 'My opponent is stupid' and he's saying the same thing back, 'He's stupid, too'," said Bryan Hudson, a retired auto mechanic.

"I turn off the ads when they come on," said Marcia Angstadt, a real estate worker.

The race between Republican Richard Mourdock and Democrat Joe Donnelly is a dead heat. Voters still wavering, like Angstadt, are crucial. Their decision likely hinges on what is said in the next two weeks.

"I still think we haven't heard much of a plan from either candidate," Angstadt said.

Kristy Sheeler is an associate professor at IUPUI, teaching political communications.

"It is the same message," Sheeler said. "Nobody is giving me anything different."

Whoever, drops the negative ads, Sheeler believes, will gain the advantage.

"If the candidate just says 'This is what I am going to do' and mat that change, I think they will pull in voters because it is so different," she said.

A new Mourdock ad featuring presidential candidate Mitt Romney praising his fellow Republican appears to turn the campaign in a different direction.

Donnelly's campaign staff won't say whether voters should expect any new ads or new strategies in the final weeks of the campaign.

However both campaigns say their candidates are preparing for Tuesday's final debate. Then will be barnstorming the state, meeting as many people as possible, pressing the flesh and pressing them for their votes.