Newark, Delaware (CNN) — A feistyChristine O’Donnell attacked her Democratic opponent but also stumbled in Wednesday’s debate with Chris Coons in their election battle for Delaware’s U.S. Senate held for nearly four decades by Vice President Joe Biden.
O’Donnell, the Tea Party backed candidate who upset the mainstream Republican favorite in the primary, appeared nervous at the start but quickly went on the attack, accusing Coons of raising taxes and offering a “rubber stamp” to Obama administration policies if elected.
“My opponent wants to go to Washington and rubber-stamp the spending bills” that she said are hurting the nation and Delaware.
Later, O’Donnell said, a vote for Coons would cost the average Delawarean $10,000 “instantly” in tax hikes and energy reform costs.
Coons emphasized his experience as New Castle County executive but also attacked O’Donnell, calling some of her positions extreme and accusing her of lying about his record in campaign messaging.
Both candidates framed the election as a clear choice for voters, with Coons taking mainstream Democratic stances on economic policy, health care and other issues, while O’Donnell backed Republican positions such as tax cuts and spending cuts to balance the budget.
The most serious problem for either candidate came when O’Donnell was asked to cite any specific recent Supreme Court rulings that she opposed.
“Oh gosh, give me a specific one,” she said, and when told the question required her come up with cases, O’Donnell responded, “I’m sorry,” and promised to put the information up later on her website.
Coons quickly referred to the Citizens United ruling in January in which the court lifted some limits on corporate contributions to campaign spending.
In a pattern throughout the debate, O’Donnell made broad statements that attacked Coons on various mainstream Democratic stances, sometimes with personal references to his political record and what she called a family business.
Offered the chance to respond, Coons several times expressed exasperation, saying at one point: “A fascinating question that really makes no sense. What’s she talking about?”
The debate produced a few humorous moments, such as when Coons said O’Donnell’s well-publicized statements from a decade earlier that she dabbled in witchcraft and questioned evolution theory were distractions instead of a substantive campaign issue.
“You’re just jealous that you weren’t on ‘Saturday Night Live’,” O’Donnell said, referring to the comedy show’s satirical skit about her.
“I’m dying to see who’s going to play me,” Coons responded with a smile.
O’Donnell scored a major upset last month when she defeated Rep. Mike Castle to win Delaware’s GOP Senate nomination.
She had support from the Tea Party Express, a major endorsement from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as well as the strong anti-establishment and anti-incumbent feelings among voters this year in topping Castle, a moderate Republican who served nine terms in the House and eight years as governor before that.
Since O’Donnell’s primary victory, she has had to deal with controversial and colorful comments she made about a decade ago when she was a spokeswoman for conservative causes.
Her first campaign commercial began with O’Donnell declaring, “I am not a witch” in response to her statement years ago on the program “Politically Incorrect” that she “dabbled in witchcraft.”
She acknowledged in an interview with CNN that the resurfaced clips have forced her to reinvent herself in the final weeks of the campaign.
“I haven’t been embarrassed. And I’m not saying that I’m proud,” O’Donnell told CNN’s Jim Acosta last week. “I’ve matured in my faith. I’ve matured in my policies. Today you have a forty-something woman running for office, not a 20-year-old. So that’s a big difference.”
The debate at the University of Delaware in Newark was co-moderated by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and by longtime Delaware news anchor Nancy Karibjanian of Delaware First Media.
Results of a CNN/Time/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday showed Coons with a 19-point lead over O’Donnell. However, O’Donnell enjoys a lead in campaign cash, which is one reason both President Barack Obama and Biden are coming to Delaware on Friday to help Coons raise money.
O’Donnell, 41, ran unsuccessfully for Senate twice before, in 2006 and 2008. Since winning the primary, she’s had to deal with controversies involving unpaid income taxes and allegations of misusing campaign donations, as well as attacks from Democrats and some Republicans, including Karl Rove, on her qualifications.
Coons, the 47-year-old executive of New Castle County, the state’s most populous county, faced no serious opposition in the Democratic primary.
While he is running his first statewide campaign, Coons is neither a political novice nor a party outsider. In 1988, Coons served as a policy researcher for the failed Senate campaign of then-Lt. Gov. S.B. Woo.
He went on to earn a degree from Yale Law School, as well as a master’s in ethics from Yale Divinity School.
The winner in November will fill out the remaining four years of Biden’s final term in the Senate. Biden stepped down from his seat after his election in November 2008 as vice president.
Former Biden aide Ted Kaufman was named as an interim replacement, and did not seek a full term.
CNN’s Tom Cohen, Paul Steinhauser, Jim Acosta, and Bonnie Kapp contributed to this report.
