Mike Castle In Trouble Is Going Mainstream

Could the fact that perhaps Mike Castle is not a shoo-in for election to the Senate be breaking through into the mainstream? Now it’s Fox News (which is highly influential for a propaganda outfit):

And he appears to be doing just that. His slow but steady rise in the polls, coupled with a first for Castle as he dipped below the 50 percent mark in a mid-July Rasmussen poll, has some Republicans scratching their heads in wonder. Could this be a sleeper race?

By all accounts, Castle is the odds-on favorite. Cook Political Report senior editor Jennifer Duffy says the Republican still has a comfortable lead with plenty of money in the bank, there has been no “forcing event” – that is, an unpredictable game-changer, so the respected publication sees no reason, as yet, to change its rating for the race from “Leans Republican.”

“Part of it is Castle. He was the candidate Republicans needed to run,” Duffy said, though noting, “No doubt, Castle does have a race.”

I totally agree with this so far. There hasn’t been an event to change the race much but Castle is moving back to under 50% to where he was polling going against Beau Biden. I like this next part, and this is exactly what Chris Coons wants to see.

Democrats then quickly embraced the young, energetic county executive, trying to hold onto the seat that would have comfortably stayed in Democratic hands under Sen. Biden, while Republicans relished a potentially embarrassing pick-up that could also include the Illinois seat Obama once held, as well.

Remember early on when Coons first jumped in, many thought the secret to success was for Coons to contrast “young, energetic, good campaigner” with Castle’s age. And Coons needed to do this without explicitly saying Castle is old. In this case, Fox is doing it for him.

The rest of the article lays out the challenges for Coons – the money disadvantage, name recognition and Castle’s popularity. It also briefly mention’s O’Donnell’s challenge to Castle before dismissing her.

I find it a bit ironic that Fox’s take on the race is much, much smarter than David Broder.