2010 elections

Power To The People: Some Of The Biggest Ballot Measures Of 2010

Clayton Ashley | November 2, 2010, 7:03AM

When voters head to the polls Tuesday, many won't just be voting for senators, congressman, governors and all sorts of local officials. They'll also have the opportunity to change their state laws in a more direct, populist way: by ballot measure. Over half the states have propositions on the ballot and TPM has collected some of the most important, fascinating, and controversial questions voters will get the chance to answer for themselves in the voting booth.

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Tea Party

Tea Party's First Birthday Highlights Divisions In Movement

Christina Bellantoni | March 1, 2010, 2:25PM

Dick Armey of FreedomWorks speaks with a tea party enthusiast

The tea party movement officially turned one over the weekend, drawing various celebrations, laudatory statements from Republican leadership and boastful emails about all the group has accomplished since 2009. But even those anniversary milestones highlight deep factions within the movement and how Republicans are bending over backwards to be associated with the tea partiers.

For example, the Tea Party Express organizers cited several odd accomplishments, including a political race that ended up with a Democratic victory and a Senator's retirement that had nothing to do with the tea party at all.

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2010 elections

Doug Hoffman Likely Running Again As Candidate To 'Unite' All GOP Factions (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | February 19, 2010, 5:36PM

Conservative Party Candidate Doug Hoffman, Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY)

Doug Hoffman is considering another bid for the 23rd Congressional district but this time will "absolutely" go the Republican establishment route, he told TPMDC.

Hoffman, who hinted he'd run a second time after losing to a Democrat last fall,
said if he gets in the race it would be to "get the seat back into Republican hands."

I caught up with Hoffman for an interview at the Conservative Political Action Conference today, and he charged that Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY) violated his campaign pledges on his first week in office by voting for the health care bill.

"I'm the only candidate that can unite the Republican party, the conservative party, the tea party, the 9/12ers and the grassroots of the 23rd district," he said.

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Doug Hoffman

Hoffman Announces 2010 Bid: I'm Not Saying There Was Voter Fraud In NY-23, But I'm Not Not Saying There Was Either

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 27, 2009, 10:27AM

Conservative Party Candidate Doug Hoffman, Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY)

As Josh reported yesterday, Doug Hoffman is preparing a second run at the NY-23 congressional seat next year.

On his website yesterday, Hoffman laid out his reasons for deciding take on Rep. Bill Owens (D) so soon after he conceded to the freshman Representative for the second time. In short, Hoffman suggests again that the Nov. 3 special election was rigged in Owens' favor -- and then immediately apologizes to elections officials for offending them with the claim.

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Doug Hoffman

Hoffman Takes Back His Concession Speech In NY-23

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 16, 2009, 5:19PM

NY-23 Candidate Doug Hoffman (Conservative) and Glenn Beck

Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman tried to reopen the NY-23 race this afternoon. Two weeks after he conceded defeat to Rep. Bill Owens (D), Hoffman attempted to take it all back in an interview with Glenn Beck.

Beck who championed Hoffman during the race, asked Hoffman if he regretted conceding in the wake of new poll results that show him losing to Owens by a narrower margin than was projected on election night. Some Hoffman supporters have held out hope that the 10,000 absentee ballots currently being counted by election officials in New York could reverse the election night result, which saw Owens become the first Democratic representative from the district in over a century.

Today, Hoffman seemed willing to oblige their fantasies.

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Senate '10

Who Will Be The Next Hoffmania Victim In 2010 -- Or The Next Hoffman?

Eric Kleefeld | November 9, 2009, 5:23PM

NY-23 Candidate Doug Hoffman (Conservative)

The NY-23 special election saw an amazing political phenomenon, with the right wing taking down a moderate Republican, as grassroots conservatives mobilize against a traditionally more cautious party establishment. So what are some other races out there?

We're not talking about any old crowded Republican primary -- for example, the fields right now in New Hampshire and Nevada are still taking shape -- though of course those races could potentially become Hoffmanized down the road. We're talking about races in which a push from the right can upset the balance of a race, pushing out an establishment-favored candidate due to insufficient conservatism.

Florida: Crist vs. Rubio
The Club For Growth, which heavily backed Hoffman, has made the Florida Senate race a new priority, endorsing the more conservative former state House Speaker Marco Rubio over moderate Gov. Charlie Crist, who had supported the stimulus and campaigned for it alongside President Obama. (Interestingly enough, Crist now says he didn't endorse the stimulus, but was simply working to get the best possible deal for Florida. The Rubio camp and his backers, as you can imagine, aren't taking that for an answer.)

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NY-23

NY-23 And GOP Turmoil Makes Urban Dictionary In New Entry: 'Scozzafavaed'

Christina Bellantoni | November 6, 2009, 2:24PM

Former NY-23 House candidate Dede Scozzafava (R)

Well, look at that. Not sure that's how Dede Scozzafava wanted to go down in history when she started her bid to be the next member of Congress from New York.

The Urban Dictionary has added "Scozzafavaed" to its pages.

Scozzafavaed (Pronounced: /skoʊzəfavəd/) -verb

1. Purged of moderation, e.g., within in a Congressional district
2. Inadvertently revealed internal chaos, e.g., within in (sic) a political party
3. Adj., Doomed due to popular support of the GOP electorate
"Dude, you see Glenn Beck talking about how our congressman supports indoctrinating us in the ways of socialism through paper money last night?

FL-SEN

Club For Growth Targets Crist With Florida TV Ad

Rachel Slajda | November 5, 2009, 12:38PM

Florida Governor Charlie Crist (R)

Club for Growth, the conservative group that bankrolled Doug Hoffman's failed candidacy in NY-23, has, not surprisingly, set its sights on Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL) today with an ad that will air on Florida television.

The ad attacks Crist for supporting the stimulus and speaking in favor of it at rallies with President Obama. It claims "200,000 Floridians have lost their jobs" since the stimulus passed.

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NY-23

NY-23: Owens Wins In Race That Captured National Spotlight

Christina Bellantoni | November 4, 2009, 12:18AM

NY-23 Candidates Bill Owens (D) and Doug Hoffman (Conservative)

Democrats have captured the 23rd Congressional District in New York.

CNN and Fox News called the race for Democrat Bill Owens, making him the first Democrat to hold the upstate New York seat since the Civil War. With 87 percent of precincts reporting, Owens led conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman by 49-45.

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NY-23

Owens Leads In NY-23 As Democrats Have One Chance To Avoid Full Sweep

Christina Bellantoni | November 3, 2009, 10:31PM

NY-23 Candidates Bill Owens (D) and Doug Hoffman (Conservative)

Democrat Bill Owens leads conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman by 51-44 percent with one-third of precincts reporting.

If Owens hangs onto that margin, New York's 23rd Congressional district will be the only bright spot on the map for Democrats tonight.

NY-23

NY-23: Too Close To Call

Christina Bellantoni | November 3, 2009, 10:10PM

NY-23 Candidates Bill Owens (D) and Doug Hoffman (Conservative)

Polls have been closed for more than an hour in New York's 23rd Congressional district, but neither candidate has a clear advantage.

Democrat Bill Owens has a slight lead over Doug Hoffman, the conservative party candidate, with early returns trickling in.

The victor will replace Republican John McHugh, who President Obama named to be his secretary of the Army.

Hoffman appeared earlier on Fox:

Sarah Palin

Biden And Palin Battle Each Other In NY-23

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 2, 2009, 1:54PM

Vice President Joe Biden, Fmr. Gov. Sarah Palin (R)

Via Facebook today, Sarah Palin took on Vice President Joe Biden over comments he made about her support for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the NY-23 race.

At a rally over the weekend, Biden called out Palin over her approach to energy policy. Biden's comments, as ABC News reported them:

"Sarah Palin thinks the answer to energy is 'Drill, baby, drill.' " Biden said...Then he leaned in to the microphone: "It's a lot more complicated, Sarah."

On Facebook today, Palin seemed eager to step into the ring again with the man she battled for the vice-presidency last year. From her post:

There's one way to tell Vice President Biden that we're tired of folks in Washington distorting our message and hampering our nation's progress: Hoffman, Baby, Hoffman!

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NY-23

RNC Backs Hoffman In NY-23 Shakeup

Christina Bellantoni | October 31, 2009, 1:35PM

NY-23 Candidates Doug Hoffman (Conservative) and Bill Owens (D)

The Republican National Committee announced it will immediately back Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman following GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava's campaign suspension in the special election in New York's 23rd Congressional district.

Here is Chairman Mike Steele's statement.

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NY-23

Pro-Life Activist: "It's A Shame" That The GOP Has Picked A Pro-Choicer In NY-23

Eric Kleefeld | September 29, 2009, 4:06PM

NY-23 candidates Dede Scozzafava (R) and Bill Owens (D)

I just spoke to Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life conservative organization the Susan B. Anthony List, and she indicated to me that the national Republican Party will be facing a backlash for supporting a pro-choice Republican candidate in the upcoming NY-23 special election, a swing seat formerly held by Republican Rep. John McHugh, who is now President Obama's Secretary of the Army.

I started off by asking Dannenfelser, whose organization has endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, whether she's worried about splitting the conservative vote and handing the election to the Democrat.

"Normally in many situations that certainly can be the case, and we wouldn't want to have somebody that will end up voting for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker, that's for sure," said Dannenfelser. "But in this case it's just such a different district, and their self-identification is so in line with Hoffman. It's a shame he didn't get the Republican nomination, because he actually seems like a Republican, and the Republican nominee doesn't seem like a Republican."

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NY-23

A Three-Way Special Election In NY-23?

Eric Kleefeld | September 24, 2009, 6:46PM

NY-23 candidates Dede Scozzafava (R) and Bill Owens (D)

The upcoming NY-23 special election, caused by the resignation of GOP Rep. John McHugh when he became President Obama's Secretary of the Army, could very well turn into a genuine three-way race -- and the right-wing Club For Growth appear ready to help make it happen.

The issue here is that a lot of conservatives are looking at the Republican nominee, state Rep. Dede Scozzafava, and seeing a big liberal -- she's pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and is somewhat supportive of labor unions. New York has a separate Conservative Party -- which normally thrives under New York's fusion voting system -- and they now have their own candidate, accountant Doug Hoffman.

The Club has released a new poll that finds some potential for a Hoffman candidacy. The poll asks this question: "Would you prefer your next member of Congress be a liberal Democrat, a liberal Republican, or a Conservative Party candidate who would align himself with Republicans in Congress?" The result: Conservative 36.3%, liberal Democrat 30.7%, and liberal Republican 17.7%.

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