In Delaware, tea party upset thrills Democrats

WILMINGTON, Del. - The state Republican Party's fierce attacks on tea party-backed Christine O'Donnell offer Democrats plenty of ammunition in the U.S. Senate race after her shocking upset of a nine-term congressman and former Delaware governor.

Democrats watched for weeks as Rep. Mike Castle and O'Donnell pummeled each other in an ugly contest that didn't let up even in the final hours when her own party launched automated phone calls attacking her.

A woman who said she was Kristin Murray, O'Donnell's campaign manager in her 2008 unsuccessful Senate campaign, accused the candidate of "living on campaign donations - using them for rent and personal expenses, while leaving her workers unpaid and piling up thousands in debt."

That followed earlier GOP claims that O'Donnell has lied about her education and has left a trail of unpaid bills and a default on her mortgage. O'Donnell, meanwhile, says if national Republican Party leaders won't support her, she will win the November general election without them. "I think a few of them may have their pride hurt this morning, but you know I didn't count on the establishment to win the primary," she said. "I'm not counting on them to win the general. I'm counting on the voters of Delaware."

O'Donnell told NBC's "Today" show that getting Sarah Palin's endorsement was invaluable and marked "a turning point" in her campaign.

Democrats and their candidate Chris Coons can reach into the GOP's quiver for arrows to fire at O'Donnell as they try to keep the seat held for more than three decades by Joe Biden before he gave it up in early 2009 after being elected vice president. His successor, Democratic Sen. Ted Kaufman, pledged not to run for a full term.