Democrat Chris Coons is leading Christine O’Donnell by a comfortable 53 percent to 42 percent margin in the Delaware Senate race, according to a new Rasmussen poll.

Rasmussen now considers the Senate seat to be “solid Democrat,” which it notes “marks a remarkable turnaround in a race that at the beginning of the month was rated Solid Republican and was on track to be a GOP pickup.”

The difference, of course, is that Mike Castle was a favorite to win, and O’Donnell is a longshot.

As I wrote yesterday, there are arguments that can be made for why it is important for conservatives to make an example of liberal Republicans — and send a message that conservatives are willing to hand a Senate seat to Democrats to take a stand. But they shouldn’t delude themselves into thinking that O’Donnell has a realistic chance of winning the race. Sure, anything is theoretically possible, but clearly Castle stood a much better chance.