Is O'Donnell's "Tea" Too Strong For Delaware?

Tonight's final wave of primaries will end the way they began: as an internal battle between "establishment" Republicans and "insurgent" Tea Party candidates. But as the race to November kicks into high gear, the reality is beginning to set in that the gains some political "outsiders" made in the primaries may not translate to general election victories.

In the case of Delaware's Republican Senate primary, should "insurgent" Christine O'Donnell defeat "establishment" candidate Rep. Mike Castle, the Republican Party of Delaware will essentially let her sink or swim because they don't think she can win the general election.

On Tuesday's Washington Unplugged, CBSNews.com political reporter Stephanie Condon told CBS News Capitol Hill Correspondent Nancy Cordes, "This is a critical seat for the Republicans if they want a chance at taking back the Senate and there's evidence to suggest they're right; O'Donnell isn't as viable as a candidate."

Cordes added that O'Donnell's appeal is narrow because she's a social conservative and Delaware is a moderate, "blue" leaning state.

Additionally, there's been increasing scrutiny around O'Donnell, related to financial difficulties like a near-foreclosure and a battle with the IRS, which might put into question her capability of holding public office.

O'Donnell has responded by saying she is an average American who has suffered financial hardship, unlike Castle, who has received government paychecks for 18 years. New York Times national political correspondent Jeff Zeleny told Cordes that O'Donnell's response was not surprising.

"I think it's really the only thing she can say at this point," he said. "Locally, the stories about her have been really harsh. It's not just her house being foreclosed on, it's just some odd behavior she's had over the years. She's been on the ballot before in Delaware so, from the outside, we're sort of learning this for the first time."

Zeleny also noted, "What's interesting in this race is that it's become as competitive as it has. For months Mike Castle ignored her. He thought the best approach for her was to not pay attention to her at all, but after Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska was defeated, he decided he needed to fight back and engage her. We'll see if that was the right strategy or not."

Watch Tuesday's Washington Unplugged, also featuring an interview with SuperBowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees and Politico's Kiki Ryan with this week's "Plugged In."

"Washington Unplugged," CBSNews.com's exclusive daily politics Webshow, appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.