>>many voters simply voted the RNC straight ticket, thinking (in error) that they were also voting for O’Donnel.<<
Are you saying that O’Donnell wasn’t listed as the R on the ballot?
Yup. She couldn’t get support from the RNC, so she ran as an independent. She wanted to be the RNC candidate, but the RNC leadership is smarter than we stupid voters, and refused to sponsor her.
Thanks to these fecal-brained RNC leaders, we now have a Democrat sitting in that chair.