Christine O'Donnell began her first television ad by telling voters: "I'm not a witch." Now she's followed that up with a second ad that is almost as bizarre, which starts: "I didn't go to Yale."
A transcript of the 30 second video reads:
"I didn't go to Yale, I didn't inherit millions like my opponent. I'm you. I know how tough it is to make and keep a dollar. When some tried to push me from this race they saw what I was made of. And so will the Senate if they try to increase our taxes one more dime. I'm Christine O'Donnell and I approve this message. I'm you."
O'Donnell's remarks about not attending Yale or inheriting millions are aimed at her Democratic opponent Chris Coons, the clear favourite to win the seat according to polls taken since O'Donnell's shock victory in the Republican party primary last month.
Coons has a graduate degree from Yale Law School, widely acknowledged to have the toughest admissions process in the US. Three members of the current US supreme court went to Yale Law School, including Clarence Thomas, while George Bush senior and junior both attended the university.
The "inherit millions" line is a nasty attack, since Coons's family went bankrupt in the 1970s and was forced to sell their home, after which his parents divorced. His mother re-married, to Robert Gore, one of the founders of Gore-Tex, based in Delaware and where Chris Coons worked for several years. Since Robert Gore is still alive it's unlikely Coons has inherited anything from his stepfather.
O'Donnell's denial that she went to Yale is curious in another way: resumes posted under her name falsely claimed that O'Donnell had attended Oxford University, while other versions falsely claimed she attended Claremont Graduate University in California.
As for inheriting millions, O'Donnell's own finances are a mystery, with earnings last year of less than $6,000 and facing allegations that she has used campaign contributions to pay her rent.