Tea Party Senate Candidate Opposes Masturbation

She's now ahead in polls, but Delaware GOP is fighting back

(NEWSER) - If you thought Christine O'Donnell's anti-masturbation stance and "strange" ways were going to keep her from winning tomorrow's Delaware Republican Senate primary, think again. A new poll shows she's leading Rep. Mike Castle 47% to 44%—in other words, a dead heat, since the poll has a 3.8% margin of error, Politico reports. That's quite a jump from last month, when 60% of Delaware Republicans indicated a preference for Castle. "This race is too close to call and could certainly go either way," says a Public Policy Polling rep. More»

And her campaign 'scares me,' says Meg

(NEWSER) - Whoa! Meghan McCain takedown! The battle of the GOP fems got ugly yesterday when McCain blasted Tea Party Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell as a scary nut job. "Christine O'Donnell is making a mockery of running for public office," McCain said yesterday on ABC's This Week. "She has no real history, no real success in any kind of business." The message it "sends to my generation is that one day you can just wake and run for Senate, no matter how" little "experience you have—and it scares me in so many ways," she added. "In my group of friends, it turns people off because she's seen as a nut job." More»

Says her old stance isn't relevant to Senate race

(NEWSER) - Christine O'Donnell just isn't going there. The new Tea Party queen refused to answer whether she still considers masturbation a sin—a stance she spelled out years ago on MTV (see video in gallery) that has since become fodder for her critics. "My opponents dug up a quote I gave 16 years ago," she tells the Guardian . "That is how desperate they are. I was a pundit. I was very passionate in my 20s and wanted to share my beliefs." More»

Highlights from this morning's victory lap

(NEWSER) - Mike Castle will not be endorsing Christine O'Donnell for the Senate, Politico reports. But O'Donnell doesn't care, as she told Fox and Friends on today's morning show victory lap. Watch all three videos in the gallery. Highlights:

• Fox and Friends: "Just like my Republican opponent was an Obama Republican, we have a lot of Reagan Democrats here in Delaware who are thrilled about the Palin endorsement. But it's not even, 'She has Palin. Why would I need Mike Castle?' I have the support of the people here in Delaware and that's who I'm counting on to win this general election."

Robocall comes in final hours of campaign

(NEWSER) - Delaware's GOP primary for the Senate remains nasty in its final hours. A former campaign manager of Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell unleashed a blistering robocall calling her a "complete fraud," reports Politico . In the call made by Kristin Murray, who managed O'Donnell's failed 2008 campaign against Joe Biden, Murray declares: "She wasn't concerned about conservative causes. O’Donnell just wanted to make a buck." Whether Mike Castle benefits should be clear by the end of the night. For more on O'Donnell, including those anti-masturbation views, click here . More»