O'Donnell Cancels "Face the Nation" Appearance

Updated 5:28 p.m. ET

Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party darling whose Republican primary win in Delaware's Senate race shocked the GOP, has canceled her appearances on two national news shows.

O'Donnell had been set to appear on CBS' "Face the Nation" and on "Fox News Sunday."

Campaign spokeswoman Diane Banister told The Associated Press on Saturday that O'Donnell canceled so she could attend previously scheduled events, including a Republican picnic Sunday in Delaware's Sussex County, where she received key support.

Banister says O'Donnell would love to appear on the shows in the future.

On Friday, O'Donnell made her first national appearance since her primary win in Washington at the annual Values Voters Summit.

Her appearances on the news shows would have further put her in the national spotlight.

The cancellation follows the broadcast Friday night of "Real Time With Bill Maher," in which the comedian played a clip from his old ABC show, "Politically Incorrect," on which O'Donnell had often appeared.

In the clip, from 1999, O'Donnell said that she had "dabbled into witchcraft," and had her first date with a witch on a Satanic altar.

Maher described O'Donnell as "nice," but also said he had many other such clips from 22 episodes, and would air them until she agreed to come onto "Real Time": "It's like a hostage crisis: Every week you don't show up . . . "

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