Evan McMorris-Santoro September 15, 2010, 1:15 PM

Karl Rove is not backing down from his criticisms of Christine O’Donnell, despite a growing chorus of criticisms coming from right-wing corners. In an interview on Fox today, Rove was asked to respond to attacks from the newly-minted Republican nominee for Senate in Delaware, who, like her supporters, has been openly calling Rove out for not getting on board with her campaign.

Rove’s answer to O’Donnell and the other right-wing critics, in a nuthshell: You guys really think Christine O’Donnell can win a general election with this much embarrassing baggage? Prove it.

“I believe the questions [about] why she had a problem for five years with paying her federal income taxes, why her house was foreclosed on and put up for sale, why it took 16 years to settle her college debt and get her diploma while she went around for years claiming she was a college graduate,” Rove said. “I think a lot of voters in Delaware are going to want more than she is offering to them right now, and we’ll see.”

Earlier on ABC’s Good Morning America, O’Donnell dismissed the criticisms over her murky past as just crying over spilled milk by Rove and other establishment GOPers.

“I think he’s saying he’s one of the so-called experts whose credibility was hurt last night,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell has a lot of baggage from her history as a conservative activist, and trails Democrat Chris Coons in a Senate race that Republicans thought was theirs for the taking. O’Donnell’s nomination has created deep divisions between the Republican Party and right-wing activists.

Rove responded to O’Donnell today on Fox. “Look, she believes she’s going to win,” he said. “That is what a candidate ought to believe.”

Watch:

The latest PPP poll of the Delaware Senate race shows Democrat Chris Coons leading O’Donnell 50-34.

2010 elections, Christine O'Donnell, DE-SEN, Karl Rove, Senate '10