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Could the tea party's greatest triumph mark the biggest Republican loss this election cycle? Throughout the primary campaign season, the movement's tussles with the GOP have resulted in the rise of Sharron Angle, Rand Paul, and Joe Miller—all tea party-backed candidates who upset the establishment Republican favorites in their respective Senate GOP primaries. And despite this internal squabble, the GOP seemed to be increasing its chances of taking over the Senate, as all had a good shot at winning in the general election. That was until tea partier Christine O'Donnell suddenly surged in the Delaware Republican primary against Rep. Mike Castle.

Castle, one of the few remaining moderate Republicans in Congress, has long been a favorite target of the grassroots right, but the going assumption was that he had a clear path to the Senate. Having developed a reputation for breaking from his party, the long-time Congressman was well liked in the small, Democratic-leaning state, making him the early favorite in the race for Vice-President Biden's old seat. But last month, Miller's surprise upset of Lisa Murkowski in Alaska created in a massive boost of support for O'Donnell—including endorsements from Sarah Palin, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), the National Rifle Association, and the major national tea party groups.

Ultimately, though, the biggest benefactor of an O'Donnell victory could be the Democratic Party, as she has a significantly weaker shot against the likely Democratic contender, lawyer and county executive Chris Coons. According to PPP, Coons, the likely Democratic contender, "would start out with a large advantage over O'Donnell in a general election match up, and is polling closer to Castle than he was when PPP polled Delaware last month." If the GOP loses Delaware, it could completely blow its chance at getting enough seats for a Senate majority.

Why might the GOP be doomed? Though tea party candidates are notorious for embracing extreme positions, O'Donnell might just be the queen of the lunatic fringe. "Christine O'Donnell makes Sharron Angle look like Margaret Thatcher," tweeted Jim Geraghty from the National Review, a conservative standard-bearer. Here's Daily Intel's tour of O'Donnell's greatest hits:

■ She believes that masturbating or looking at pornography is tantamount to adultery.

■ She said of Castle's campaign: "They’re following me. They follow me home at night. I make sure that I come back to the townhouse and then we have our team come out and check all the bushes and check all the cars to make sure that...They’re hiding in the bushes when I’m at candidate forums."

■ She claimed that when she ran against Joe Biden in 2008, she won two of Delaware's three counties. In reality, she hadn't won any. When this discrepancy was pointed out by a radio host, O'Donnell claimed that she had actually tied Biden in one of them. Still not true.

■ Though she had previously claimed to have graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University, O'Donnell only received her degree 10 days ago. [MoJo: She also falsely implied that she was taking Master's classes at Princeton.]

Rightly fearful of an O'Donnell win, the national GOP tried to paint her as an unelectable fraud and liar, sparking a massive internal fight. The Democrats may luck out on this one.

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A celebratory Christine O'Donnell thanked her supporters, the Tea Party and kingmaker Sarah Palin on the night of her stunning win in Delaware's Republican Senate primary.

At the same time, party leaders were shaking their heads, watching helplessly as control of the Senate was slipping out of reach.

Republicans were expected to pick up the Senate seat that Vice President Joe Biden held for 26 years with Rep. Mike Castle, a nine-term congressman and popular former governor who appealed to independents and some Democrats, on the ballot.

And in an anti-incumbent year, Republicans had hopes of reclaiming the Senate, where Democrats hold 59 seats, including two independents who caucus with them, and Republicans 41.

But now that it will be O'Donnell facing off against Democrat Chris Coons, Democrats are breathing a little easier.

Within hours of the race being called, two top nonpartisan political handicappers changed their rating of how the Delaware Senate election might go.

The Rothenberg Political Report moved the race from "Lean Republican" to "Lean Democrat." On Wednesday morning, the Cook Political Report changed its rating from "Likely Republican" to "Likely Democrat."

"Castle had broad appeal, including to independents and even Democratic voters, while O'Donnell's appeal is limited to Tea Party conservatives. Lacking an impressive resume and unlikely to garner significant national Republican support, O'Donnell clearly looks like an underdog against New Castle County Executive Chris Coons (D), who is suddenly transformed to the favorite in the general election," the Rothenberg Report said. "While Tea Party activists are jumping for joy at the primary results, it's Democrats who will have the last laugh in Delaware."

Moments after O'Donnell's victory, the National Republican Senatorial Committee offered a one-armed embrace to their new candidate.

"We congratulate Christine O'Donnell for her nomination this evening after a hard-fought primary campaign in Delaware," Rob Jesmer, the committee's executive director, said in a statement.

No second sentence. No predictions for November.

"The NRSC statement appears as tepid as the Republican Governors Association's initial statement following Rick Scott's victory in Florida," said Paul Steinhauser, CNN's deputy political director. Outsider Scott defeated party favorite Bill McCollum in August in Florida's gubernatorial primary.

Top Democratic strategist Steve Elmendorf said the Republicans "basically gave away a Senate seat."

"This woman cannot win. Just look at the tone of what the NRSC and Karl Rove said," he said.

Speaking on Fox News on Tuesday night, Rove, who was a top aide for former President George W. Bush, said the political newcomer does not "evince the characteristics of rectitude and sincerity and character that the voters are looking for," adding "there's just a lot of nutty things she's been saying."

O'Donnell brushed off Rove's remarks, saying, "It's a shame. He is the same so-called political guru that predicted I wasn't going to win."

"And we won, and we won big. So I think he is eating some humble pie and trying to restore his reputation," she told ABC in response.

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