Maddow says staff ejected from O’Donnell’s headquarters

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and her producers didn't have much luck with Christine O'Donnell's campaign staff in Delaware on Tuesday.

"Ejected from O'Donnell HQ," Maddow wrote on Twitter. "Staffer insulted producers Bill & Laura then angry man came outside and told us to leave and not come back."

Maddow explained in a statement to The Upshot that representatives from her show have "spoken with the O'Donnell folks multiple times about us being here today and wanting to speak with someone — anyone, even a volunteer — from the campaign."

So Bill Wolff, the show's executive producer and MSNBC's senior vice president for prime-time programming, along with producer Laura Conaway, traveled to the Republican Senate hopeful's headquarters to speak with someone from the campaign. They did not go inside with a camera crew. Maddow said "they were greeted nicely by what appeared to be two junior staffers" but were "then insulted by a senior staffer" and left the building.

Next, she said, "an angry guy followed them out and told us loudly that we all had to leave the premises and not come back." Maddow continued: "Other than that, Delaware's great!"

Maddow was outside the headquarters at the time. The liberal host explained that "part of the reason we kept me outside was to avoid any drama or upset with the campaign staffers — so much for that."

The incident may be addressed on tonight's show. Maddow said her staff is "having a hilariously hard time finding anyone — ANYONE — from Delaware, who will talk with us re: O'Donnell."

O'Donnell, a tea party favorite who appears on Fox News, recently told host Sean Hannity that her focus until Election Day will be on local media. Since winning Delaware's Republican primary, O'Donnell has mostly avoided the national media and canceled a scheduled appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation."

An O'Donnell spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Photo of Maddow at Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Feb. 2010: AP /Manuel Balce Ceneta)