Republicans fear echoes of Alaska in Delaware primary

[alp227]

Is Mike Castle the next Lisa Murkowski?

Nearly two weeks removed from Murkowski's stunning defeat by little-known attorney Joe Miller in the Republican Senate primary in Alaska, establishment GOPers are nervous of a repeat in Delaware, where Castle faces 2008 Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell in the Sept. 14 primary.

Castle's resume in elected office in Delaware extends more than 40 years and includes an eight-year stint as governor. So, until recently, it was assumed that he would easily win the primary and the general election to replace appointed Sen. Ted Kaufman, a Democrat.

And political pros still largely dismiss O'Donnell, a marketing consultant who won 35 percent of the vote when she ran against then-Sen. Joe Biden in 2008, as a gadfly. Internal GOP polling conducted last week showed Castle with a margin of nearly 20 points over O'Donnell.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/05/AR2010090503655.html