Sarah Palin endorses Richard Mourdock against Dick Lugar

From the Washington Post, the Fix: Sarah Palin endorses Richard Mourdock against Dick Lugar

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

* Sarah Palin is backing state Treasurer Richard Mourdock over Sen. Dick Lugar in Indiana’s May 8 GOP Senate primary. “Conservatives of all stripes are uniting behind” Mourdock, she announced in a Facebook post. It’s the highest-profile endorsement yet for the primary challenger and it pits Palin against her old running-mate, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who just cut a radio ad for Lugar.

* Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney spoke to a group of college students in Ohio today, urging them to start their own businesses like his friend Jimmy John: “Take a shot, go for it, take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business.”

* Vice President Joe Biden woke up a drowsy crowd of donors today, telling attendees at a fundraising breakfast that “you all look dull as hell ... the dullest audience I have ever spoken to.” (He got big laughs, according to a pool report.) The breakfast was with more than 200 members of the Turkish and Azerbaijani communities; tickets started at $2,500.

* Days after winning a brutal member-vs-member primary with Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), Rep. Mark Critz has been brought into the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Frontline program for vulnerable incumbents. Critz faces a tough race for the new 12th district against Allegheny County attorney Keith Rothfus (R).

WHAT YOU SHOULDN’T MISS:

* The ad wars are heating up in Arizona’s 8th district, where Ron Barber (D) faces Jesse Kelly (R) in a June 12 special election for the seat left open by retired Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D). The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is launching a $150,000 ad buy while the National Republican Congressional Committee has put $300,000 into ads.

* Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee will the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire GOP’s May 30 Victory Dinner, which kicks off the general election season in the state. Tickets are a cool $100.

* New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will campaign with Gov. Scott Walker in Green Bay and Milwaukee next week, helping his fellow Republican governor raise money for his June 5 recall election.

* The House passed a student-loan bill that pays for low interest rates with money from a preventative health-care fund, a GOP-backed bill that Obama has threatened to veto. Democrats would pay for the interest rate freeze by closing a loophole that allows some wealthy company shareholders to avoid Medicare payroll taxes.