of a mess for republicans. absolutely, candy. the ground may still actually be shaking in delaware. i mean, just a few weeks ago, christine o donnell was far less known than she is right now. and she was badly trailing congressman mike castle in the polls. but in a few short weeks she gained ground, and now she clinched this victory. i definitely credit her own campaigning, but sarah palin and the tea party express. they went in there with palin s backing, sending people out, spending money. she s claiming victory now. and shannon, up in new hampshire, we re not really sure who is going to win that one. it s very, very close. any chance we ll get some sort of decision later today? yeah. we re not really sure when that decision will actually come out. it s too close to call right now. but there you have a little bit of a different dynamic. you have the favorite of the local tea party groups there
name in the state. but the tea party movement came in, and there again they backed paladino and he s claiming the nomination. one interesting thing to note is that we ve seen during the cycle, the tea party movement going into red states and maybe even swing states, but this marks a sea change in their strategy that they are unafraid. they re making bold moves in blue states, in delaware, in new york, and they re actually coming out on top. so will this happen a lasting impact? will this dramatically affect their strategy? remains to be seen. but it definitely marks a new chapter in their strategy as they try to blaze this path to power. as they say, oh, what a night. at least for the tea party. shannon travis. thanks so much. fresh off that victory in the delaware primary, christine o donnell will be joining us live here at 7:20 eastern. we re going to ask her what s next for her improbable run and how she plans to deal with divided republicans. we re also keeping an eye on the tr
first up this morning, the tea party hangover up in delaware. seven states and the district of columbia went to the polls, and it s clear today, it is tea time. if there s one thing that s clear is that tea party-backed candidates claimed big victories, and we ve got the best political team on tv. so let s get right to it. first up, delaware, where kr christine o donnell beat mike castle in the republican primary for vice president biden s old senate seat. a shocking upset by a candidate who was little known until she won the backing of the tea party and sarah palin. she challenged the establishment before it was cool to challenge the establishment. and she pioneered a trail for so many women out there. and you know, so, we have to thank her and all the women serving in politics regardless of the party. because it s a man s world.
i m curious as to who you have heard from in terms of congratulations or offers of help in the washington party hierarchy. well, we haven t heard from anybody in the washington party hierarchy. and that s a shame. i think right now maybe their pride is just hurt a little bit and they re licking their wounds because the so-called experts were discredited this morning. so, you know but we re hoping to hear from them soon. we will reach out to them. but i m confident that if they choose not to get behind this race, we will get the support that we need. and we can win in november. because delaware s a state that s small enough that i can be in every county every week giving the voters an opportunity to get to know me, i can get to know them and i can personally ask them for their vote in november. have you heard from any what we would call republican big wigs saying, hey, way to go
more than a dozen ethics violation charges told supporters it is time to move forward. i can only say that this victory has to be yours. it has to be my wife and i were able to stand up to the criticism and the attacks. and one note. charlie rangel was not reelected. that s for november. he was renominated as the democratic nominee for that seat that he has held for 40 years. yeah, long time. and if anyone had doubts about sarah palin s clout, they got a wake-up call last night in delaware. christine o donnell captured the republican senate primary with a big push from palin. shannon travis is live in washington this morning. just a huge victory for o donnell and the tea party. and really, shannon, something