
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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (7) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (14) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)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.)
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/) -verbPERMALINK | COMMENTS (7) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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?
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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (3) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (83) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (12) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (1) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)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:
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (5) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
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!