Ranking Election 2010 Newsmakers

With the U.S. economy and the role of government emerging as crucial issues in the midterm elections, it's not surprising that President Obama has been the top newsmaker in the 2010 election coverage to date.

According to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, Obama and his administration led in 343 election stories from January 1-October 31, 2010. (To be a lead newsmaker, someone must be featured in at least 50% of a story.) But the No. 2 campaign newsmaker rose from obscurity to become a household name in a matter of weeks, if not days. Christine O'Donnell, the tea party-backed candidate who won a stunning victory in Delaware's GOP senate primary, dominated 160 election stories examined by PEJ. O'Donnell's upset over Congressman Mike Castle -- as well as her penchant for controversial statements (some of them well in the past) about everything from dabbling in witchcraft to the separation of church and state -- has made her a media favorite. Indeed, four of the 10 top election newsmakers are representatives of the tea party movement, which has emerged as a key element in the election narrative.