Greg Sargent flags Fox's new poll of Delaware's Senate race showing New Castle County Executive Chris Coons leading unemployed former witch dabbler Christine O'Donnell among likely voters by a 15-point margin, 54%-39%.
As Sargent notes, the most interesting finding of the poll isn't that Coons is leading (not exactly a shock), but it's that O'Donnell's nomination has turned a state that was poised to elect a Republican into a state strongly behind a Democrat. According to the poll, if GOP Rep. Mike Castle had been nominated, he'd be leading Coons by a 15-point margin, 48%-33%. That means O'Donnell's nomination has caused at least in 1 in 5 Delaware voters to change their mind.
So while this may have been a big victory for teahadists in their battle to move the GOP to the right, it's also a big defeat for the GOP in its attempt to regain power. It may ultimately even be a setback for teahadists themselves: 41% of Delaware voters say their vote this fall will be to "express opposition" to the tea party movement. Just 26% say their vote will express support. The balance -- 33% -- either aren't sure or don't care. Once again, this underscores what has been obvious for a long time: teahadists have driven up enthusiasm for GOP politics, but only on the margins. The vast majority of American voters are either being turned off by the teahadists or just don't care about them at all.