WASHINGTON — Can this political marriage survive? More than a half-dozen Tea Party- backed candidates have captured Republican Senate nominations, and now the GOP is trying to bring their rebel supporters’ enthusiasm into the fold for November.
Republicans have little choice but to at least put on a show of unity: Alienating the anti-establishment Tea Party could undercut GOP efforts to post big Senate gains.
Judging by how quickly members of the GOP establishment embraced Tea Party nominees after earlier primaries in Kentucky, Colorado and Nevada, it might not take long for them to consider insurgent Christine O’Donnell one of their own in Delaware.
The state’s Senate primary was the freshest source of Republican division after O’Donnell’s stunning upset of nine-term Rep. Mike Castle. He hasn’t rallied behind her, but others have.
And, after an initial curt reaction, Sen. John Cornyn’s committee to elect Senate Republicans made its support clear: “The National Republican Senatorial Committee . . . strongly stand by all of our Republican nominees, including Christine O’Donnell in Delaware.”
There are less than seven weeks to Election Day, and the GOP can’t afford to turn off Tea Party voters who, if they turn out, could carry Republican candidates to victory in six or more Senate races. Republicans need to gain 10 seats to take control of the Senate.
