Christine O'Donnell's openly lesbian sister says the tea party favorite is not homophobic.

O'Donnell, who prevailed over Rep. Mike Castle on Tuesday to win the GOP 's Delaware nomination for the U.S. Senate, had been accused of gay baiting her rival, promoting the ex-gay movement and making derogatory remarks against the gay community.

In a video posted at the tea party-backed website Liberty.com, a female impersonating a newscaster praises O'Donnell, then suggests that her rival is gay.

“Isn't Mike Castle cheating on his wife with a man?” an unseen voice asks.

“That's the rumor,” the gleeful newscaster responds.

O'Donnell took advantage of the opening by repeating the claim while denying any involvement in the rumor.

“I think that that's a very tacky approach,” she said on the Dan Gaffney Show. “I never said that Mike Castle was gay … I don't endorse putting out rumors that Mike Castle is gay.”

And she also repeated the suggestion on the Mark Levin Show: “You know these are the types of cheap underhanded, unmanly tactics that we've come to expect from Obama's favorite Republican, Mike Castle. You know I released a statement today saying, Mike Castle this is not a bake-off. Get your man pants on.”

O'Donnell, who is known for her old-fashioned views about sex, is the founder of the Saviors Alliance for Lifting the Truth (SALT), a Christian-based group that promotes abstinence. Wade Richards, a former SALT staffer, has alleged that O'Donnell supports “curing” gay men and lesbians from their homosexuality.

O'Donnell is also a former spokeswoman for the Christian group Concerned Women for America (CWA), which opposes gay rights, including repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the 1993 law that prohibits gay troops from serving openly.

And three years ago in a Fox News interview, she bitterly complained that people attending Gay Pride parades were “getting away with lasciviousness … nudity … perversion.”

But O'Donnell's sister, Jean, who lives in Los Angeles and is openly gay, has laughed off the suggestion that her sister is homophobic.

After O'Donnell won Tuesday's primary, Jean O'Donnell wrote on her Facebook page: “... thank you for your love, prayers, good humor and support of my sister, no matter what lies were made up about her … oh ... PS, have you heard the latest? She's homophobic … gotta laugh.”