Gov. Christie backs Castle in Delaware Senate race

The governor of New Jersey is weighing in on Delaware's Republican Senate primary, backing Rep. Mike Castle (Del.), who is facing a challenge from the right in the form of conservative commentator Christine O'Donnell.

"Mike understands that our nation's most urgent priority is the economy and that the path to restoring America's prosperity requires making tough, responsible decisions," Chris Christie said Thursday. "He is the strong voice that the people of Delaware need in the Senate to get our fiscal house back in order and get Americans back to work."

It's certainly notable that Christie, who has gained popularity among conservatives nationwide due to the way he has tackled New Jersey's budget woes and taken on the state's labor unions, has thrown his support behind Castle.

Christie announced his backing of Castle on Thursday night after an event at the University of Delaware, where Christie is an alumnus.

The Delaware Republican appears to be taking the challenge from O'Donnell a bit more seriously than he was just last week.

With the Tea Party Express now spending in the state and boasting internal poll numbers that claim the race is within points, the Castle camp is prepared to go negative on O'Donnell ahead of the Sept. 14 primary.

The Tea Party Express, which played a major role in Joe Miller's victory in Alaska over Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), released its first TV ad against Castle on Thursday.

The ad, which labels Castle "one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress," will go up on the airwaves early next week.