Christine O’Donnell Goes Back To The Tea Party; Promises Them A Surprise

Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell (R)
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WILMINGTON, DE — It ain’t over ’til it’s over, says Christine O’Donnell. The embattled Republican nominee for Senate here in The First State told a crowd of supporters from her tea party base not to count her out just yet — despite polls showing Democrat Chris Coons cruising to an easy win. O’Donnell says she’s counting on first-time voters and a new 30-minute TV closing argument (airing three times on statewide TV in the next 24 hours) to pull off what most observers say would be a miracle win.

At a Delaware stop for the Tea Party Express bus tour — the PAC-funded group that helped bring you such quotable tea party notables as Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), Nevada GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle, Alaska GOP Senate nominee Joe Miller and others — O’Donnell called on her supporters not to give up hope.

“We’re neck and neck in the polls,” O’Donnell told the crowd of perhaps several hundred at Wilmington’s waterfront development on the Christina River. She then told the crowd she’s seen polls showing her “up three points” and “down 20” points in the past couple days. The TPM Poll Average shows Coons leading 55.2-37.7.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Christine O’Donnell: Anti-Masturbation Crusader. Witchcraft Dabbler. Republican Senate Nominee.]

According to O’Donnell “first-time voters” who “don’t show up in polls” turned out for her surprising primary win in September. She said the same thing could happen this time around.

“We were down in the polls the day before election last time,” she said, referring to the primary.

O’Donnell also used her speech to announce a new 30-minute ad she says will close out the race with three statewide airings before election day: one tonight, and two tomorrow. O’Donnell said the half-hour ad was needed because she is “fighting the media” as well as the Democrats.

As for the Tea Party Express, which rolled into Delaware as part of its final swing of the 2010 cycle, the nearly two hours of roadshow the staged before O’Donnell took the microphone suggested that the group — which helped her win the GOP primary over establishment pick Rep. Mike Castle — had already moved on from the Delaware race.

Most of the talk from the group was of Nevada — one speaker called it the tea party’s “number one target” — and Alaska. The Tea Party Express is still running ads in those two states (which it showed to the crowd at the rally).

But the audience, at least, shared the hope that O’Donnell espoused from the stage. Even though she has seemingly failed to generate support outside the tea party faithful, according to polls, the folks gathered here in Wilmington today said that she’s still got a shot.

One sign carried by a Delaware O’Donnell supporter summarized the mood.

“Polls are just polls,” it read. “Vote anyway!”

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