Despite a sometimes-testy race for the Delaware Senate seat, Chris Coons has strongly condemned the Gawker.com article about his Republican opponent Christine O’Donnell.

“It’s cowardly and despicable that they would publish this garbage,” Coons’s spokesman, Daniel McElhatton told The Daily Caller.

On Thursday morning, Gawker published a lurid story detailing an episode in the Republican candidate’s past. By Thursday night, O’Donnell had slammed the story, the National Organization for Women condemned it and much of the Twitter-verse was in an uproar.

According to sources, the Coons campaign has not reached out to the O’Donnell campaign since the article was published. Apart from daring Sarah Palin to actively campaign for O’Donnell in Delaware and some highly publicized debates, Coons has generally steered clear of the Republican candidate, who is currently trailing by an average 16 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.

Some have speculated that the Gawker piece would bring out a sympathy vote for O’Donnell. A new Monmouth University poll released today, shows that O’Donnell has cut Coons’s lead from 19 percent to just 10 percent —but  the poll was conducted before the Gawker story broke.

According to the poll, 51 percent of likely voters support Coons while 41 percent have committed to O’Donnell. The Republican candidate also now has the advantage with Independents, with 47 percent compared to Coons’s 42 percent.

McElhatton said the Coons campaign will take the same approach it has always taken during the race — sticking to the issues. He said Coons will be focusing positively on the final four days of the race itself.

“This is all about turnout right now,” he said.

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