In the latest skirmish between Tea Partiers and the GOP mainstream, grassroots insurgent Christine O'Donnell has pulled ahead of Rep. Michael Castle in polls leading up to Tuesday's GOP Senate primary in Delaware. Castle, a former governor and one of his state's best-known politicians, was once considered the runaway favorite, but O'Donnell, a champion of abstinence education and other conservative causes enjoyed a major bounce after receiving an endorsement from Sarah Palin. The GOP establishment is pushing hard for Castle, dishing dirt on O'Donnell's financial problems and other issues. Will it be enough to derail the Tea Party upstart? (Watch an MSNBC discussion about Castle's chances)
Backed by party muscle, expect Castle to prevail: With Republican leaders "furiously going after" O'Donnell, says Steven Benen at Washington Monthly, and with Castle's campaign suddenly spending money it planned to save for the general election campaign, Castle will likely "eke out a win." But the "wild eyed panic" at GOP headquarters is still justified — after Tea Partier Joe Miller's upset of Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska last month, anything is possible.
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