Posted on 10/18/2010 3:34:47 PM PDT by IbJensen
With Delaware’s Democratic Senatorial candidate Chris Coons maintaining a commanding lead over his Republican counterpart Christine O’Donnell, the Tea Party favorite cannot help but turn to the National Republican Senatorial Committee for more help. What’s ironic, according to ABC News, however, is that O’Donnell’s message to the national GOP is “strangely mixed,” as she is both fighting them and asking for their help.
ABC News reports, “At the debate at the Wilmington, Delaware Rotary Club, O’Donnell ended her closing statement not with a message of party unity, but with one of defiance: ‘If you want a senator who has had to fight her own party and is still fighting her own party,’ she said, ‘please vote O’Donnell for U.S. Senate.’ ”
With Republican politicians in the minority in Delaware, holding just two of nine statewide offices, O’Donnell’s decision to draw a line between herself and the GOP during the debate was perhaps a smart one. However, post-debate polls show very little change in the numbers.
A University of Delaware Center for Political Communication poll conducted just prior to the debate showed Coons with a 21-point lead over O’Donnell, 54 to 33 percent. A follow-up poll done just after the end of the debate showed a mere 2 percent of likely voters changed their views.
However, the Rasmussen poll, conducted on Thursday, October 14, shows Coons with only an 11-point lead over O’Donnell, 51 to 40 percent.
Regardless, O’Donnell finds herself in an uncomfortable position just two weeks before the midterm elections, prompting her to turn to the very party from which she has attempted to separate herself.
During an interview with “This Week,” O’Donnell indicated that she needed help from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. She said, “We’re hoping that the National Republican Senatorial Committee will help us. But it’s two and a half weeks left and they’re not.”
Delaware Online adds, “O’Donnell pointed out that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is spending in Delaware on Coons’ behalf. The DSCC has been running ads for weeks highlighting O’Donnell’s past financial problems and allegations raised in a complaint by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, D.C.”
According to ABC News, however, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has already donated $42,000 to O’Donnell’s campaign, the legal maximum that can be donated.
Likewise, the chairman of the NRSC has indicated the Committee’s support of O’Donnell shortly after she defeated Representative Mike Castle in the Republican primary: “Let there be no mistake: The National Republican Senatorial Committee — and I personally as the committee’s chairman —strongly stand by all of our Republican nominees, including Christine O’Donnell in Delaware.”
Additionally, Chris Bond, spokesman for the NRSC, rebutted the notion that they have not been assisting O’Donnell’s campaign. “The NRSC has been in constant communications with the O’Donnell campaign, and our political director recently spent a day on the ground meeting with her staff, the focus of which was how to best spend the millions of dollars she has raised in recent weeks.”
One thing is for certain. Raising money has not been a problem for O’Donnell, who has raised more than $3.7 million since she won the primary. O’Donnell’s campaign has “enjoyed a 2-to-1 cash advantage over Chris Coons,” reports Bond.
However, O’Donnell recognizes a failure in getting out the message on Coons’ negative record, including his Marxist leanings.
While O’Donnell’s position appears precarious, according to Anthony Martin of The Examiner, “there is a reason to believe that the polls are wrong:”
“First, O’Donnell’s fundraising has outpaced that of Coons 2 to 1. This is in spite of the fact that both the state and national GOP establishment have refused to support O’Donnell. The Party elitists, who are dominated by RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) insisted, even to the point of being obnoxious, that Mike Castle should be their candidate. And even when he lost to O’Donnell, the Party bigwigs still refused to accept the will of the people.
Second, it is clear that internal, non-publicized polling done by Democratic operatives shows that Coons is in trouble. If this were not the case, then the Democratic Party elitists would not be bringing out the big guns to the state to stump for Coons … and to bash O’Donnell relentlessly. Obama and Biden both traveled to the state to campaign for Coons — a sure sign the candidate is not as far out in front as the public polls suggest.”
Campaigners for both candidates seem to recognize that Delaware’s Senate seat will likely be the determining factor in which party will have control of the United States Senate.
Coons notes, “I don’t think there’s a scenario where the Republicans take control of the United States Senate if I’m successful in this Senate seat. And I’ve been told that’s a critical strategic concern for folks who are looking at this race from outside.”
Despite this proclamation, Bond issued a news release stating, “We’re treating the Delaware Senate race the same as we would any other Senate race. We’re going to look in this last few weeks where our resources are best applied.”
I hope you are right. The country could use her, or any Republican in the senate from a northeastern state at this point.
I think the NRSC with their war chest needs to back AlL of their candidates and that includes Christine.
Why else are they sucking up people’s hard earned dollars? Surely it’s not to sit on it.
Valid point. Campaigns are expensive.
Valid point. Campaigns are expensive.
$3.5 million is nothing in a tough race, Angle is blowing through a million a week.
“rino” Castle.
Eh. So you don’t believe that Castle was a true “RINO”?
Was it his support for Obama, go along, get along or crap and trade that convinced you to add the quote marks?
Look, Mike, I am sorry that you lost a tough race, but Christine is the Republican nominee, and if you are a conservative you need to get behind her and stop smearing her.
You keep sending her money, or claim to, yet you keep bad mouthing her at every chance here at freerepublic, you even work in Palin at times.
My guess is that social conservatism is something that bugs you.
You keep sending her money, or claim to, yet you keep bad mouthing her at every chance here at freerepublic, you even work in Palin at times.
My guess is that social conservatism is something that bugs you.
I think you have me confused with some other iconoclast posting on this board. I haven’t donated to either Ms. O’Donnell or Ms. Palin. Wish them all the luck, however.
As for my social conservatism, I am an orthodox Roman Catholic. I’m opposed to abortion and same sex marriage, and hate the homosexual sin (and sin in general) but not the sinner. I’m take a libertarian position on most issues that my faith doesn’t address. I’ve always thought of myself as a social conservative, but hopefully one who follows reason and not invective. But, maybe I am wrong.
Sorry mate, but name’s not Mike. As for Castle, I have no use for him other than for the fact that he is a Republican who can win a senate seat in a northeastern state. If the GOP amasses 51 votes, they dictate the committee chairmanships and the budgets and the policy making machinery. Like it or not, that’s important.
If O’Donnell wins the seat, it will be better than Castle winning the seat and I’ll apologize to you guys and admit I was a stubborn old foolish “realist.” I hope it happens, but I don’t think I’m going to need to develop a taste for humble pie any time soon.
I see what happened now, you post our remarks to you, as your own, you don’t even bother with quote marks.
I have never seen that before, how are we supposed to know which words are yours, or someone else’s?
The GOP really needs to get with the program.
If O’Donnell loses - they’ll be blamed. And deserve it.
Thing is, part of the reason she’s behind is all the GOP backbiting.
She’s behind because the GOP is split. Time for the GOP to man up and do the right thing. Help the lady win. She can, if the GOP pulls out the stops - and the benefits of an O’Donnell victory would be earthshaking for life during the next Senate.
ROVE. Get with it.
Fair enough. I just worry about Ol’ Jumpin’ Jim.
Once burned twice shy. At least with Castle we have a chance to win it all.
They certainly are. Even the palm cards they hand out. $$$$$
BTW, I got the same letter, and I’m going to make another contribution. I’m in NY, so I can’t vote for her, but I think she’s got what it takes. I like her a lot.
I don’t know. I am still getting requests for money from Michelle Bachmann’s campaign....two letters in the last week and two phone calls. She has raised millions!! And only two weeks left! Something else is going on with these requests, this late.
I think they are adding a cushion for future use.
If this battle takes 50 years, fine. Its a battle of ideas not chairmanships. And Castle, once elected in Delaware will prolong the battle not advance it.
I know some of them are very well set....
but I think the intimidation factor is big.....if you have a huge war chest, the opponent gets very worried...
but we can only give what we can give, right?....
I hope she wins....Rasmussen has it at 11% with 9%undecided....I’ll take those odds especially if the campaign starts making big inroads which it should...
If the GOP amasses 49 votes, and Cristine is one of them,
what then friend.
TOKYO ROVE!
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