O'Donnell Most Covered Candidate Of 2010 Midterm Elections
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The media loves covering the media.
Just look at the attention MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann got for donating to Democratic political campaigns.
On Yahoo's Upshot blog, Michael Calderone takes a look at the most covered candidates of the 2010 midterm election cycle.
According to the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism the top 10 newsmakers were:
- Christine O'Donnell (160)
- Meg Whitman (90)
- Rand Paul (88)
- Joe Sestak (85)
- Sharron Angle (80)
- Harry Reid (74)
- Charlie Crist (67)
- Blanche Lincoln (52)
- Carl Paladino (52)
- Jerry Brown (49)
In the race for Delaware senator, Tea Party-backed candidate Christine O'Donnell trailed Democrat Chris Coons for months. Yet she remained a high-profile candidate because of a tendency to stick her foot in her mouth.
Some of O'Donnell's more notable quips include embracing witchcraft, denouncing masturbation and questioning the separation of church and state.
O'Donnell's most recent foray with the public spotlight involves a story on Gawker in which a writer alleges having had a one-night stand with the candidate on Halloween three years ago. The story includes pictures of an allegedly intoxicated O'Donnell in a ladybug costume.
Calderone writes, "The amount of coverage shows that the media will focus on a candidate who -- despite little chance of winning -- makes headlines with provocative statements and actions out of character with most mainstream politicians. The media similarly pounced on little-known candidate Alvin Greene after he came out of nowhere to win the South Carolina Democratic primary and began making a series of bizarre comments."
To reach editor-in-chief Callie Schweitzer, click here.
To follow her on Twitter: @cschweitz
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