It’s all over now, baby blue:
Longtime Republican congressman Mike Castle has ruled out a write-in campaign in the U.S. Senate race in Delaware.
Castle is also a former two-term governor and the longest serving congressman in state history. He lost the GOP primary earlier this month in a stunning upset to tea party favorite Christine O’Donnell.
He issued a statement Wednesday night saying he had ruled out a write-in campaign, which many supporters had asked him to consider.
Still, of course, no O’Donnell endorsement.
Enjoy all that O’Donnell teanuttery!
And he very likely would not want to give O’Donnell any sort of an opening.
I don’t think it would’ve mattered if Castle had done a write-in campaign or not, this was always Coons’s race to win, and it’s insane that so many people have assumed that Castle was going to somehow play spoiler in O’Donnell’s favor.
Lt. Gov, Gov, Rep and Sen (I think there are about five others that claim that distinction now, coming from 220 years.)
And here’s why: IMO In a typical DE race, after you account for dyed in the wool Democrats and Republicans Democrats have a roughly 4 point lead with about a 20% group of true Independents, and moderate Democrats and Republicans.
In a Castle-Coons race, Castle would’ve dominated this group en route to a low double digits victory. Now, Coons will dominate this group en route to a mid double digits victory.
Had Castle pursued the write-in campaign, maybe just maybe he takes virtually all of that 20% group that will go to Coons and O’Donnell ekes out a victory.
It’s not likely, in fact basically everything would have to go against us for it to happen but there was a path to victory for O’Donnell however slim it was. Now, were in dead girl live boy territory for O’Donnell
I am not sure that this was true in a 2 way race, Castle was VERY popular in DE, a “moderate” R in a state that likes moderation. I think that Coons could have won a 2 person race, but he really would have had to work for it.
This year I’m very reluctant to call a race over if it doesn’t have Hoeven-Potter numbers. So I don’t want to say that Coons has it in the bag just yet. Let’s cross our fingers that O’Donnell won’t surge McMahan/Brady style.
Go Coons.
ND-Sen. If only….If the ND primary was held at a much later time, maybe a teabagger would’ve arisen in ND and sunk Hoeven in the primary. Had that happened, and had Halter won in AR, then there would’ve been no Dem senate seat that would’ve been a guaranteed flip.
I guess now we won’t talk about being “Scozzafava’ed” anymore. Now we’ll talk about being “Castle’d”.