Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell, a perennial candidate with no government experience, soundly defeated veteran politician Mike Castle for the Republican Senate nomination in Delaware Tuesday -- posing a major upset to the political establishment on the last big day of primaries.
With all precincts reporting, O'Donnell beat Castle 53-47 percent.
O'Donnell's win stands as the latest sign of Tea Party strength but also the latest test of whether that movement helps or hinders the Republican Party, with an open seat and perhaps a GOP Senate majority at stake.
Nay sayers say that O'Donnell cannot beat out Democratic candidate Chris Coons in November, then again, predictions also claimed she couldn't defeat Castle, so we shall see.
"A lot of people have already said that we can't win the general election," O'Donnell said in her victory speech, joining the crowd in a "yes we can" chant. "It is those same so-called experts who said we had no chance of winning the primary.
"It will be hard work, but we can win," she said.
With anti-Democrat sentiment running rampant ahead of November, it is quite possible, if not probable, that O'Donnell will defeat Coons simply because he is a Democrat.
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