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CAMPAIGN 2010 | AROUND THE NATION The Boston Globe

Delaware race could put hex on GOP hopes Takeover of Senate is seen at stake
By Mark Arsenault

NEWARK, Del. — The surprising campaign of Republican US Senate hopeful Christine O’Donnell has charmed Tea Party conservatives, energized voters of both parties, and transformed the traditionally buttoned-down world of Delaware politics into a noisy carnival of witch costumes and intense national media attention.

But the candidate, hounded by an old admission she “dabbled into witchcraft,’’ has not built confidence among mainstream Republicans that she can win what the party had once considered theirs for the taking: the Senate seat held by Vice President Joe Biden for 36 years.

O’Donnell’s stark rightward positions and her history of bizarre statements, replayed on television and the Internet, have alarmed many voters. Now, Democrats are confidently pushing back.

“We’re going to be the first state to put down the Tea Partiers,’’ promised Ken Dreisbach, 63, a retired railroad conductor from Wilmington, as he demonstrated against O’Donnell outside a debate between the candidates Wednesday. “We’re going to stuff ’em.’’

The Democratic candidate, Chris Coons, enjoys a healthy lead in the polls. An average of recent polls aggregated by the website Real Clear Politics showed Coons up by about 18 points, at roughly 55 percent to 37. The seat is open; Ted Kaufman, who was appointed to replace Biden after the 2008 elections, is not running.

For Republicans, the battle to assume control of the Senate could pivot on Delaware. GOP candidates are running well in other contested races across the country, but the party’s quest for 10 seats and a chamber majority will be extremely difficult without a win here.

Only weeks ago, a win in Delaware seemed easily within reach.

Last month’s primary victory by O’Donnell, a former marketing consultant who badly lost two previous bids for the Senate, over nine-term US Representative Mike Castle stunned the Republican establishment. And though the upset grabbed headlines and garnered a slew of contributions, Castle has not endorsed her and the Delaware GOP remains fractured.

“Much of the established leadership of the party was pledged to Castle, so his reluctance gives guidance to them,’’ said Joe Pika, a political science professor at the University of Delaware.

With only tepid support from the GOP establishment, O’Donnell has tried to reach out directly to the voters. But her electability continues to be undermined by a series of embarrassing past statements on videotape, such as her effort in the 1990s to curb masturbation. She also once claimed to have classified information about China’s secret plan to take over America and has questioned the science behind evolution. Her witchcraft revelation came during an appearance on comedian Bill Maher’s former talk show in 1999.

“She has a 10- 15-year record of media comments that’s being used against her and doled out week to week,’’ said Dan Cassino, political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. “That has prevented her from getting any momentum.’’

O’Donnell has responded with a TV ad assuring voters “I’m not a witch . . . I’m you,’’ only to have the spot parodied on the Internet and on “Saturday Night Live.’’

The contrast between the spotlight-grabbing O’Donnell and her opponent is stark. Coons, 47, is a Yale-educated lawyer and two-term New Castle County executive, an elected position overseeing the state’s most populous county. He’s running a traditional, meet-and-greet Delaware campaign, with numerous appearances in a state where retail politics still matters, specialist say.

Coons highlights his experience balancing the county budget and accuses O’Donnell of empty sloganeering.

In response, O’Donnell, who has called for tax and spending cuts, attacked with a campy mock movie trailer in which Coons stars as “The Tax Man’’ who wants to increase taxes on “everything.’’

Neither campaign responded to requests for an interview.

With the fervor of O’Donnell’s Tea Party supporters, the glare of the media, and the reaction to her provocative past statements, it has not been politics as usual here. That was perhaps most evident at Wednesday’s debate at the University of Delaware in Newark.

Hundreds of O’Donnell and Coons supporters demonstrated side-by-side for hours before the event on a sunny afternoon. People from both camps wore pointy witch hats and carried brooms. Tea Party fans chanted against socialism next to gay rights advocates waving rainbow flags.

Members of the Wicca faith who call themselves witches took issue with O’Donnell’s TV ad.

“She says, ‘I’m not a witch, I’m you,’ ’’ complained Amy Blackthorn, a 28-year-old Wiccan from Newark, who protested at the event. “That’s the problem. I am a witch.’’

The candidates traded shots in the debate, with no knockouts. Coons delivered a confident performance, showing good command of issues and details. O’Donnell was stumped on a question about recent Supreme Court decisions she disagreed with — she couldn’t name any — but mostly sounded credible on the issues, which may help reassure voters unnerved by past statements.

That O’Donnell, 41, has made it this far in the race is remarkable. With a high-profile endorsement from Sarah Palin, O’Donnell managed to tap into a cauldron of Tea Party anger to win her primary by 6 percentage points, adding Castle to the list of other established Republicans, among them US senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bob Bennett of Utah, who were rejected by primary voters favoring more conservative insurgents.

“Thank God we finally found a candidate strong enough to defeat Mike Castle,’’ said Larry Mayo, a 55-year-old remodeling contractor who demonstrated in Newark for O’Donnell this week.

Like a number of staunch conservatives at the event, Mayo said he was sick of being asked to support Republicans he considers too liberal. “I got tired of holding my nose and voting for someone who doesn’t share my values.’’

Before the primary, Coons was seen by many political specialists as just a speed bump between Castle and the US Senate. In a hypothetical match-up, the defeated Castle still leads Coons 50 percent to 36 percent, according to a poll released last week by Fairleigh Dickinson.

Even though Coons is doing well in the polls against O’Donnell, Democrats are not taking a victory for granted. President Obama and Biden appeared at a Coons fund-raiser yesterday, which had the dual purpose of raising money and highlighting O’Donnell as the face of the 2010 Tea Party wave of candidates.

O’Donnell fans maintain she can catch Coons. Despite trailing in the polls, she revealed yesterday that her campaign has collected about $3.8 million in donations — many in small amounts from across the nation — since her primary win, far outpacing the contributions to Coons.

But even if she cannot beat Coons, many supporters say they would rather lose the election with a candidate they like.

“We defeated a RINO and that’s a start,’’ added Skip Neubeck, 61, a retired engineer, using slang for “Republican in Name Only,’’ a scornful term for moderates.

“Castle would have won; yes, I know,’’ said Bill Ward, 62, of Bear, Del., an O’Donnell supporter and retired construction worker. “This is about sending the people in Congress a message.’’

To the GOP establishment, however, this was supposed to be about sending Republicans to Congress and controlling the agenda. Many in the party are still trying to fathom O’Donnell’s stunning rise: from being belittled by Tom Ross, the state’s GOP chairman, as someone who “could not be elected dog catcher’’ before the primary to becoming their standard-bearer after it.

“This was so destructive from a political perspective,’’ said Delaware Republican political strategist Don Mell, a Castle friend and supporter. “You’ve got to be pretty angry to burn down your own house.’’

Coons supporters like to say their candidate has done a good job as county executive and that he is not Christine O’Donnell.

“We just want people to come to their senses,’’ said Kevin Fenimore, 43, of Newark, while demonstrating in a purple witch hat. “Coons would be more like Castle, more in the center.’’
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