Christine O’Donnell, a prominent member of the grassroots conservative Tea Party movement, has been defeated in her bid to become the next senator from Delaware, CNN projected.
The Republican O’Donnell had widely been expected to lose to Democrat Chris Coons. CNN made the projection without waiting for early vote tallies.
Ms. O’Donnell’s campaign garnered national attention after she won the Republican nomination in September, knocking off Mike Castle, a former congressman and governor of Delaware.
But her primary victory was considered a serious blow to Republican aspirations to win control of the Senate, as Castle, who was believed to fare better among Delaware’s moderate voters, would have had a better chance of defeating Coons.
While polls show Republicans will mount a strong challenge to the Democratic majority in the Senate, they are likely to fall one or two seats short of unseating the Democrats.
Coons and O’Donnell were battling for the seat formerly held by Vice President Joe Biden.
