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Sen. Kaufman: Biden’s old Senate seat will stay in Democratic hands

by J. Taylor Rushing - 09/29/10 3:24 PM ET

Retiring Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) is very confident that Democrats will retain his seat, but said he “feels awful” for Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), who lost in the GOP primary.

Asked if Christine O’Donnell’s surprise victory over Castle in the primary has significantly boosted the chances that Democrats will retain his seat, Kaufman responded, “Oh, God, yes.”

{mosads}“She’s in another world. She’s just a very unusual candidate,” he said.

In an interview with The Hill, Kaufman said the seat he took over from Vice President Joe Biden will not be turning red because O’Donnell represents the extreme wing of the Republican Party. Biden easily defeated O’Donnell in their 2008 general-election match-up. Kaufman was closely involved in the 2008 race, working as Biden’s aide and adviser.

O’Donnell fired back this week, saying, “There’s nothing extreme about the ideas that most Delawareans support — lowering taxes, creating jobs and reining in the out-of-control spending that is threatening our children’s future.

Kaufman noted President Obama’s relatively high approval ratings in Delaware and predicted Democratic New Castle County Executive Chris Coons will defeat O’Donnell in November.