Christine O'Donnell: The Tea Party's next breakout star?

In a key race to watch, the Tea Party candidate for Delaware's Senate seat is trying to oust establishment Republican Mike Castle in a Sept. 14 primary

Christine O'Donnell has become a Tea Party favorite in Delaware's Republican senate race.
(Image credit: YouTube)

The battle for Delaware's Republican Senate candidacy is heating up, with Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell squaring off against GOP establishment choice Mike Castle. Polls give Castle an edge over O'Donnell ahead of the Sept. 14 primary, but the Tea Party Express has thrown its considerable support behind O'Donnell, a Christian conservative, pledging $250,000 to air ads on her behalf. Castle has responded by stepping up attacks on his opponent and devoting a website to her many gaffes. Can O'Donnell follow in the footsteps of Alaska's Joe Miller and pull off another Tea Party upset? (Watch The Week's Sunday Talk Show Briefing about Republicans' chances in the midterms)

With the Tea Party involved anything could happen: O'Donnell has a closet full of skeletons, says Chris Good at The Atlantic, and would ordinarily seem like an outside bet against a tried and tested candidate like Castle. But the involvement of the Tea Party Express — which powered Joe Miller to victory in Alaska — changes everything. Call it the "Tea Party Express Uncertainty Principle." Once the Express get involved, "all bets are off."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us