Castle says GOP needs moderates to win

Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), who is running for Senate next year, took to Twitter on Election Day to give a plug for centrist GOPers he claims are needed to win back Congress.

The centrist Castle is running on a platform that many in the conservative base deem a bad match for a new Republican candidate. But Castle's agenda may play well in Delaware, which is a solid blue state.

Castle this morning retweeted a message from former Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.), who now hosts his own program on MSNBC:

RT @joeNBC ... For the record, the GOP needs moderates in New England to win.

Internal divisions in the GOP between centrists and conservatives have become more evident in recent weeks due to the high-profile battle between Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman and Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava in New York's special election.

Hoffman ran to the right of the centrist Scozzafava, who eventually dropped out of the race because of poor polling and fundraising. Many national conservative leaders backed Hoffman in the race and scolded Scozzafava for some of her liberal positions.

Conservatives also have their eyes set on the GOP Senate primary between former Florida house Speaker Marco Rubio and Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.) Conservatives favor Rubio over the centrist Crist, who they criticized for supporting the federal stimulus package.  

Christie O'Donnell (R-Del.), who lost to now Vice President Joe Biden in 2008, said she would also run for the seat.