Christine O’Donnell, the Tea Party-backed Delaware Republican who memorably lost a controversial 2010 special election for the U.S. Senate, has announced that she is considering a rematch against incumbent senator Chris Coons (D-DE).
On Tuesday, O’Donnell – who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2006 and 2008 prior to losing to Coons – took to Twitter to announce that “there are many factors in my decision to run in 2014.”
Her tweet also addressed Senate Minority Whip Greg Lavelle, who has been urging O’Donnell to make a decision immediately, saying that her indecision is keeping other GOP candidates from announcing their own decisions.
“Lavelle’s statement that candidates can’t decide to run in 2014 until I make a decision suggests he’s stuck in a backroom deal mindset,” she added.
In September 2012, O’Donnell hinted that she would consider running for Senate, telling the Delaware News Journal, “I think I owe that to my supporters, to at least consider a run.”
In addition to her Senate speculation, O’Donnell made news on Friday when the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration announced it would begin investigating O’Donnell’s claim that she was unfairly scrutinized by the IRS during her 2010 Senate run.
Back in 2009, O’Donnell pulled one of the Tea Party’s greatest upsets, winning the 2010 GOP Senate primary over former governor and Republican favorite Mike Castle.
However, when questions regarding her self-admitted past dabbling in witchcraft prompted O’Donnell to release an ad declaring, “I am not a witch,” she watched her candidacy quickly sink. Questions about her past were followed by flimsy debates and bizarre remarks along the campaign trail, ultimately resulting in Coons’ 2010 landslide win.
O’Donnell, who once claimed that “one of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar,” might have to count on magic if she wants a successful Senate resurrection this (fourth) time around; the 2014 Senate race might produce similar results for the woman who, according to the Washington Post, is viewed as a liability by the Delaware GOP.
From equating masturbation to adultery to claiming that scientists have created “mice with fully functioning human brains” to asking the age-old question, “why aren’t monkeys still evolving into humans?” O’Donnell’s absurd remarks have even managed to scare away Republicans.
“She’s contributed to the demise of the Republican Party,” said State House Republican leader Dan Short. He maintains that nothing has changed about O’Donnell since 2010.
At least O’Donnell does not shy away from addressing some real hardline issues:
On education, school shootings, and AIDS, she somehow discovered a correlation that even the most brilliant analysts had never made: “We took the Bible and prayer out of public schools. Now we’re having weekly shootings. We had the 60s sexual revolution, and now people are dying of AIDS.”
Addressing the rising cost of healthcare for American citizens, the self-declared mortal stated, “God may choose to heal someone from cancer, yet that person still has a great deal of medical bills. The outstanding bills do not determine whether or not the patient has been healed by God.”
And if you think the economy is not on the potential candidate’s mind, think again: “America is now a socialist economy. The definition of a socialist economy is when 50 percent or more of your economy is dependent on the federal government,” O’Donnell said. It is unknown from what dictionary and economic statistical data she obtained her information.
For those of you who are still concerned about O’Donnell’s integrity, just remember that during the 2006 Senate primary, she “heard the audible voice of God. He said ‘credibility.'”
Photo: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via Flickr.com
