Christine O'Donnell says she won debate

WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Christine O'Donnell, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Delaware, says news reports misrepresented her debate with Democrat Chris Coons.

In an interview with ABC News, O'Donnell argued that she won an exchange with Coons last week over the First Amendment. She said she succeeded in making her point that the Constitution does not use the phrase "separation of church and state" while Coons was unable to recite the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.

"It's really funny the way that the media reports things," she said. "After that debate my team and I we were literally high fiving each other thinking that we had exposed he doesn't know the First Amendment, and then when we read the reports that said the opposite we were all like 'What?'"

O'Donnell, a Tea Party favorite, defeated U.S. Rep. Mike Castle, a political veteran who has won 12 statewide races, in the Republican primary. But she trails Coons in the polls and has complained of receiving no support from the national party.

While O'Donnell continues to get support from conservative figures like Rush Limbaugh, Meghan McCain, the daughter of U.S. Sen. John McCain, called her a "nut job" during an appearance on ABC's "This Week."

"All you have to do is laugh," O'Donnell said. "She's a blogger, and she's entitled to say whatever she wants."