Undefeated Republican Makes Delaware Senate Race a "Toss-Up"

Beau Biden, if he decides to run, finally has some competition for the Senate seat his father vacated to become vice president. That's because Delaware Rep. Mike Castle, "widely regarded as the only GOP candidate who can win the seat next November," has announced he's entering the race, the Washington Post reports. Castle has momentum in his favor: according to Talking Points Memo, he hasn't lost an election in his more than 40 years in politics. Castle served as a state legislator, lieutenant governor, and governor before becoming a member of the House in 1992. Beau Biden, who has not yet announced his candidacy, is currently Delaware's attorney general. Castle's announcement gives some serious momentum to the GOP, Marc Ambinder writes at the Atlantic: now "it's possible—not probable but possible—that the seats formerly held by Barack Obama ... Hillary Clinton ... Harry Reid and Joe Biden could all be in jeopardy in 2010." The race, Ambinder says, is now "a toss-up" and the usually cautious Castle's decision means the GOP has promised him "significant financial and messaging help, as well as a degree of comfort about his prospects."

Read original story in The Washington Post | Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009