NRSC Now Says It Will Support O'Donnell

The National Republican Senatorial Committee issued a statement today saying that it will support conservative Christine O’Donnell in her quest for the U.S. Senate.

O’Donnell rode a wave of voter discontent with Washington, as well as endorsements from Sarah Palin and other various Tea Party groups to victory.

“Let there be no mistake: The National Republican Senatorial Committee – and I personally as the committee’s chairman – strongly stand by all of our Republican nominees, including Christine O’Donnell in Delaware,” said NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (R-Texas).

“I reached out to Christine this morning, and as I have conveyed to all of our nominees, I offered her my personal congratulations and let her know that she has our support,” Cornyn added.

The statement today comes on the heels of an earlier report that NRSC aides said their organization would not fund O’Donnell’s general election campaign. O’Donnell, a conservative who has run for office before, upset her challenger in the primary, Rep. Mike Castle (R), despite the fact that Castle had received the support of much of the party’s so-called establishment.

Those statements prompted a group known as the Tea Party Express to slam the NRSC. “The National Republican Senatorial Committee has reportedly said they will not support their own nominee for U.S. Senate in Delaware…The NRSC tried to meddle in the vote recount for liberal Republican Lisa Murkowski in Alaska. Now they say they aren’t committed to supporting their own nominee in Delaware? When will this insanity stop?” said a spokesman for the group.

“We encourage the NRSC to take a night off, get some sleep, and reconsider their rash statements.”

Cornyn, however, said his organization is dedicated to helping O’Donnell defeat Democrat Chris Coons in November, and illustrated the NRSC’s efforts to help other Tea Party-backed candidates get elected.

“While it’s not in Republicans’ interest to advertise our spending strategy to our opponents, it’s worth noting that just yesterday, the NRSC’s first independent expenditure ad aired in support of Dr. Rand Paul’s campaign in Kentucky, where we firmly believe that he will win in November,” he said.