Maher, O’Reilly bringing up old appearances in bids to get Christine O’Donnell on their shows

O’Reilly, Maher both have old O’Donnell footage

NEW YORK — Christine O’Donnell’s eagerness to go on television is coming back to haunt her campaign for U.S. Senate.

HBO’s Bill Maher (mahr) last week played a tape from 1999 in which the conservative Christian activist said that she dabbled in witchcraft while in high school. On Monday, Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly said that he had tapes of “crazy stuff” that O’Donnell said during past appearances on his program.

O’Donnell is the Republican candidate for Senate in Delaware. Both O’Reilly and Maher have similar goals: booking her on their shows now she’s the political star of the moment.

Maher tells The Associated Press he likes O’Donnell.

A campaign spokeswoman says O’Donnell is unlikely to appear on Maher’s show, because she’s focusing on her Delaware campaign.