Obviously the very moderate Castle is distasteful to many activists riding the Tea Party Express bus in the fast lane. He was instrumental in the development and passage of the DISCLOSE Act, hated by many in hard-core conservative circles. And that was only the latest in a long line of sins for the audience in question. But Delaware hasn’t seemed to mind, and why would they? The man is a NERP (Northeast Republican Politician), after all, and he votes in that strange way we’ve grown accustomed to from our Northeast Republicans.

The political class — both old school and new — will be watching this race in the days to come. Those pesky grassroots activists have pulled off some miracles before, and there’s no guarantee they won’t do it again with O’Donnell. Meanwhile, the state GOP will chew their collective nails down to the cuticles, waiting to see if Christine will begin channeling Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, or who knows who else after the national spotlight settles firmly upon her and she spends more time with a microphone shoved in her face. Either way, get out the popcorn and slushies. It may turn out to be a wild ride.