What’s interesting about the upcoming Indiana GOP primary on May 4 is how the three main candidates represent the three distinct factions I wrote about in the TAC post Division Bell.

First you have Dan Coats, candidate of the Republican establishment. He’s a former Congressman, Ambassador to Germany and a Washington lobbyist. He was recruited by the GOP establishment to return to Indiana (he didn’t think much of the state to stay put either after he retired from Congress or after he returned from Germany).  He’s the perfect candidate for the GOP establishment, an old hand who’s firmly established inside the Insider’s Club.

Then you have State Sen. Marlin Stutzman who is starting to get backing from the conservative establishment, whether it’s David Keene of the ACU, or Erick Erickson of Red State and radio talk show host Mark Levin.  Even though a state senator who has backed tax increases and take advantage of Federal farm subsidies, his strong support for Israel, I guess, trumps all that.

Although, like divisions between the Republican and conservative establishment, there is overlapping as the Club for Growth and Jim Dobson have both supported Coats.

And then you have John Hostettler, the former Congressman who is largely relying on people power from the grassroots networks of activists he’s built up over the years along with help of his family to contest the seat. Hostettler may not get establishment support but given the way politics works nowadays, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

This doesn’t mean Hostettler lacks for outside support as Ron Paul has given his endorsement. And even though his campaign has grassroots support he still needs money to compete, especially buying TV ads with less than two weeks to go before the primary. That’s why his supporters are organizing a money bomb (or “money blitz”) for tomorrow.