Top Republicans are suggesting that they may give up on the Delaware Senate race if Tea Party backed candidate Christine O’Donnell pulls off an upset and defeats establishment backed Rep. Mike Castle for the nomination.
“I might feel okay in supporting her,” Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl told reporters this afternoon outside the Senate chamber. “The question is how much support you can give to a candidate.”
Kyl’s clear suggestion is that while Republicans might publicly back O’Donnell over Democrat Chris Coons in the general election, the race might be such an uphill climb that they’ll withhold valuable party resources from her campaign, which might be better spent, in their view, in more competitive states.
A new Public Policy Poll finds O’Donnell with a narrow lead over castle. That has establishment Republicans spooked. In the days before the election, they’ve been throwing everything they can at her to drag her numbers down. So far that hasn’t worked, and we’re poised for a squeaker tomorrow.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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