There is nothing illegal about accepting the contributions, but it could present the appearance of a conflict of interest. For someone who prides himself as a Washington outsider and an adversary of lobbyists and special interests, the story is potentially damaging.<\/p>\n
It is not what Rokita needs as he is embroiled in a costly GOP primary contest to see who will challenge incumbent Democrat Sen. Joe Donnelly for his seat in November. The 48-year-old former Indiana Secretary of State is clashing with fellow House member Rep. Luke Messer and wealthy businessman Mike Braun.<\/p>\n
The primary election is May 8 and none of the candidates can afford to give their opponents any ammunition. Purdue University political science professor James McCann told AP that Rokita is trying to court a group of voters he may be unintentionally alienating with the contributions.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who are maybe having to work two jobs, or are lower on the economic totem pole, tend to see everyday politics as more corrupt,” he said. \u201cIf Todd Rokita is seeking to differentiate himself based on sticking up for the little guy, or draining the swamp, that undercuts his messaging.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It is not the first controversy that has tainted the congressman. In 2013 he was widely criticized for calling the Affordable Care Act \u201cone of the most insidious laws ever created by man.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An Indiana congressman and Senate candidate who has echoed President Donald Trump\u2019s pledge to \u201cDrain the Swamp\u201d is finding himself mired in a potentially murky controversy over casino campaign contributions. The Associated Press reported last week that Rep. Todd Rokita (R- Brownsburg) accepted more than $163,000 from casino interests while sponsoring a bill that would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":67265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Indiana Rep. Todd Rokita Collected Cash From Casinos While Pushing Bill<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n