Politics

Coons camp hoping Sarah Palin will campaign for Christine O’Donnell

Jeff Winkler Contributor
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Who does Delaware Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Chris Coons want campaigning in Delaware? Sarah Palin, of course.

Facing attention-grabbing Republican candidate Christine O’Donnell, the Coons campaign sent an e-mail to supporters Tuesday wondering aloud why the matriarch of the “Mama Grizzlies” hadn’t yet fulfilled a promise to campaign for the struggling candidate.

“The Delaware Republican Party turned its back on O’Donnell. Then the National Republican Senatorial Committee turned off their support,” read the letter. “Sarah Palin’s absence in Delaware is a sign that she is set to do the same?”

Far from a rhetorical question, the Coons campaign seems eager to actually have the former vice presidential candidate make an appearance for O’Donnell.

“I think Sarah Palin coming in would be great,” said Coons’ Communications Director Daniel McElhatton. “Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, [and] Christine O’Donnell have all the same types of ideology and policy positions … So if Sarah Palin wants to come in and articulate those positions to Delawareans, all the better.”

The Coons camp’s eagerness to have Palin stump for O’Donnell might be reflected in a recent Gallup poll that suggests Palin has a negative net impact of 16 percent on independent voters, though it’s not as bad as President Obama’s negative net impact of 27 percent.

While polls currently show Coons leading the race by double digits, the O’Donnell camp recently sent a message to supporters claiming that gap between the two was shrinking.

“Chris Coons’ tired rhetoric is wearing thin and the polls are showing it,” read the message.

The O’Donnell campaign was unavailable for comment.