Christine O’Donnell, the Republican Senate nominee from Delaware, received a warm welcome to Washington, D.C., on Friday afternoon at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit.

O’Donnell, who spoke to a crowd for close to 20 minutes, was one of several staunchly conservative speakers, including former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity.

In her first public appearance in Washington since defeating Rep. Mike Castle in the GOP primary earlier this week, O’Donnell struck a tone familiar to the Republican right, emphasizing how out of touch government leaders have become.

Liberal elites are “calling us aging Reagan staffers and home-schoolers,” O’Donnell said of her supporters. “They’re trying to marginalize us and put us in a box.”

O’Donnell also made references to the “Chronicles of Narnia” series by C.S. Lewis, the government “taking the keys away” from average Americans and her own upbringing.

“I never had to worry about where to dock my yacht to reduce my taxes — and most of you didn’t either,” O’Donnell joked to the crowd’s delight.

O’Donnell also turned her appearance into a campaign fundraiser — a $100-a-person reception is scheduled for Friday evening at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Woodley Park, the location of the event. According to her website, the O’Donnell campaign had raised more than $1.6 million as of 5 p.m. Friday after having just $20,000 in the bank after the last reporting period Aug. 25.