In the eyes of establishment Republicans and Democrat pundits, Palin is wrong by pointing to the DE exit polls that showed Republican Mike Castle would have lost 43-44 had he — not O’Donnell — been the Republican Senate candidate against Democrat Coons. They claim that less Republicans voted due to O’Donnell being the candidate, thus less Republicans were available on Election DAY to give their opinion to pollsters. Had Castle been on the ticket, more Republicans would have voted, pushing Castle over the top of the 44-43 divide.
Indeed, Castle was and perhaps is still “loved” by the media and some Washington pundits, as was Senator McCain until… He ran against Obama who was loved more by the news makers. As a result, the media suddenly turned against McCain and later against his running mate, Palin, too. This – besides the panic driven economy – undercut McCain’s chance of winning.
Same is with Castle. As long he was not up against a Democrat, he received good Press coverage, which helped him to have good standing in the exit polls on Election Day. However, had he won the Republican Primary, the media and press would have turned on him — as they did with McCain in 2008 after he won the Primary and was up against a Dem — thus undercutting ANY chance of Castle winning against Coons.
So indeed, Republicans were destined to lose Delaware regardless the candidate.
