The Spectacle Blog
I reported here in May that New York Conservative Party chairman Mike Long had warned against Matt Doheny’s campaign for the GOP congressional nomination in the upstate District 23.
Doheny rebuffed the Conservative Party in the 2009 special election and instead donated the maximum $2,400 to Dede Scozzafava on Oct. 10. Three weeks later — the weekend before Election Day — Scozzafava dropped out of the NY-23 race and endorsed Democrat Bill Owens, who edged Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman by fewer than 3,600 votes out of more than 150,000 ballots cast.
Which brings us to the situation for 2010, as I explained in May:
To grasp the problem now facing the GOP in NY-23 requires an understanding of New York’s multi-party system. In addition to the Democratic and Republican parties, several other minor parties have ballot lines, and for a major-party candidate to pick up the endorsement of a minor party can be crucial in a close election. Last year in NY-23, for example, there were five parties on the ballot: Owens was on two lines (Democrat and Working Families parties), Scozzafava was on two lines (Republican and Independence) and Hoffman was on the Conservative line. If Hoffman wins the GOP nomination, he’ll be on at least two lines, and could win the Independence Party endorsement, as well.
Mike Long has made the argument that no Republican can win NY-23 without the Conservative Party’s endorsement, and he is adamant that the endorsement will go to Doug Hoffman this fall. So the question now is: Does the New York GOP wish to repeat last year’s disastrous attempt to prove Mike Long wrong?
The answer, apparently, is “yes.” Doheny spent $1 million of his own money to get the GOP nomination, prevailing over Hoffman by about 700 votes in the Sept. 14 primary. Doheny will thus likely achieve the same result as he did by supporting Scozzafava last year — namely, the election of Democrat Bill Owens.
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Mimi| 9.25.10 @ 11:28AM
I could't believe Doug Hoffman lost that primary....He should stay on the conservative line...because the vote was so close. So what he's been in a 3-way race before....Try again Doug... the country needs the likes of you.!!!
rob| 9.25.10 @ 12:34PM
What kind of twisted logic are your peddling here? HOFFMAN is the JERK here. Hoffman LOST the GOP primary and won't step aside !I don't care how much Dehany spent to win so what ! Dehany donated to the GOP candidate Dedde before HOFFMAN jumped in so again "who cares". Hoffman is a JERK for not moving aside . HOFFMAN who does not even live in the district thinks he is entitled NOW to have the seat. Where do all these jerks like Hoffman and LISA M and Charley C come from?
Mike Rogers| 9.25.10 @ 2:04PM
And you, sir are a rude socialist.
Illiterate, too - can't even spell the name of your Republican Socialist candidate correctly.
Hoffman is the man of the people, and the people do not want another socialist - Doheny could buy the primary, with some difficulty, but can't buy the general - if Hoffman folded his tent tomorrow, his voters would stay home in droves, because not enough non-Democrats want Doheny.
In a 3-way, we would have a Conservative, a middle-of-the-roadkill, and a genuine socialist.
The genuine socialist might beat the genuine conservative, or might not, but the "moderate" will suffer from an enthusiasm gap in any case.
Go Doug!
Paul Zummo| 9.25.10 @ 7:38PM
Hoffman is the man of the people, and the people do not want another socialist
Except that evidently a majority of the Republican voters in this district did want the "socialist" - who is in fact not a socialist, and has the backing of the tea party now that he has the nomination.
But no, keep yelling "SOCIALIST!" at everyone who disagrees with you. It doesn't make you look like a tool at all.
O'Donnell is a nut| 9.26.10 @ 11:33AM
Yeah, Hoffman is such a man of the people, he lost the primary election. The hypocrisy here is amazing. I bet the very same morons who are blasting Doheny are the ones calling Murkowski a sore loser. And Doheny is a conservative, not a liberal like Scozzafava.
Jonny-Boy| 9.26.10 @ 6:02PM
Tell me about it. It's one or the other. Either Hoffman is being a sore lose like they accuse Murkowski of being, or Murkowski is in the right for running like they think Hoffman is.
canuckistani| 9.27.10 @ 9:45AM
It is revealing when an ethic based on a supposed moral certitude is tested by sheer political ambition....and political ambition wins.
Is this moral certitude just a smokescreen or is denying majority rule, when it goes against you, a better indicator of this man's ethics?
It it troubling to see another seat go down to foolish internacene battles. The TP had a year to co-opt the committee, but I guess since none of the TP apparatchiks live in the district...including Hoffman....it had no time to run a ground game at the committee level.
Interested Conservative| 9.25.10 @ 2:40PM
The problem is the state party, first, Doheny a distant second. I am a bit surprised, though, that the Conservative party let Lazio have their line for the gov.'s race.
It's interesting that the three states where the GOP state parties are most fouled up would be NY, Cal and Illinois.
At least Ohio has very strong, though not tea party candidates, and Florida seems to be cleaning itself up very quickly.
Hoffman should keep running until the state party learns. For that matter, he may actually win in a three way race - just like O'Donnell should rejoice if Castle jumps in in Delaware.
It's strength that the action is on the right side of the spectrum and the leftists may squeak by with a low plurality here or there. It's worth the occasional loss.
O'Donnell is a nut| 9.26.10 @ 11:36AM
Again, Hoffman lost in a primary election, moron. Scozzafava was selected by the party to run against Owens; there was no primary. A big difference that seems to be glossed over by both you and the individual who authored the above blog post. Any and all Scozzafava comparisons are completely invalid.
Kenneth E. MacAlister Jr.| 9.25.10 @ 2:40PM
My total disgust & disdain for the GOP Establishment grows daily as they refuse to get it & insist on picking Democrat-lite RINOs for race after race. Funding & voting for the most conservative candidates is the only way anything will change in our government, but the RINOs running the GOP want no part of that. They want to continue the big spending big government which is bankrupting this country & I for one am sick & tired of the GOP "leadership". Conservatism works every time it is tried & conservatism will not die. The GOP on the other hand is rushing toward the extinction they so richly deserve. The Democrat-lite RINO beast cannot die fast enough. One Democrat Party is much more than enough. GOD save America from not only the Democrats, but also from The Stupid Party!
Paul Zummo| 9.25.10 @ 7:41PM
My total disgust & disdain for the GOP Establishment grows daily as they refuse to get it & insist on picking Democrat-lite RINOs for race after race.
Does your disgust and disdain also apply to the Republican voters in NY-23 who voted for Doheny?
Hoffman is as big a sore loser as daddy's little princess in Alaska and the orange goblin in Florida. Either respect the outcomes of a primary, or don't participate in them.
Interested Conservative| 9.25.10 @ 9:56PM
He's running on the Conservative line. He gave the GOP a chance. Their loss.
Still baffled by the Lazio candidacy.
O'Donnell is a nut| 9.26.10 @ 11:38AM
He gave the GOP a chance? Way to stand logic on its head. THE VOTERS REJECTED HIM. Hoffman was not rejected by the GOP "establishment". HE WAS REJECTED BY THE VOTERS. Hoffman is a sore loser, period.
Interested Conservative| 9.26.10 @ 2:33PM
Al Gore is a sore loser.
Hoffman is simply continuing to run as a Conservative. The NY GOP doesn't have to accommodate him, but he's free to not accommodate them either.
Jonny-Boy| 9.26.10 @ 6:05PM
And Lisa Murkowski and Charlie Crist are simply continuing to run as independents. You can't have it both ways on this. If tea partiers lose primaries and keep running they are in EXACTLY the same boat as moderates and establishment candidates who do the same.
Interested Conservative| 9.26.10 @ 7:21PM
Except they're not in the same boat. He's not running as an incumbent or career politician, and he's not running as an independent - he's running as a conservative. And he hasn't changed positions or made any contradictory representations or anything to bitterly cling to power in any way possible.
Other than that, yeah, it's identical.
canuckistani| 9.27.10 @ 9:50AM
The problem here is that Hoffman chose to throw his lot in with the GOP. If he had won the nom, would he not also be endorsing the GOP by flying their flag?
Marriages of convenience always end in divorce, and shame on the TP apparatchiks for abandoning the 23rd in the last year and not finding a true local to carry their banner rather than this creepy carpet-bagger.
Mimi| 9.26.10 @ 7:07PM
Me too.....He was too milk-toast. Palidino is now clearing up his message, hopefully he'll come up with the "program" to give Cuomo a race!
I support Hoffman and he is going to run on the conservative line. He only lost the primary by 600 votes. The latest heard from him is.... He is staying in the race not for self interest...only because the other two candidates...Have not been "honest with the voters". Both Hoffman and O'Donnell are the most conservative. The Republican party leaders in both states...don't get it .... all the energy, vigor, and momentum is on the Conservative side as it should be....To put the brakes and crush the LEFT!!!
canuckistani| 9.27.10 @ 9:58AM
You mean Palidino's pleadge to use Eminent Domain on the mosque is clarifying his conservative cred?
He is already abandoning TP principles in favor of populist hate mongering. What about eminent domain on abortion clinics or smut houses? What about eminent domain on Democratic offices?
Crossing the line into religious freedom and using a big government stick is disgusting coming from a TP hack like Palidino.
Where does it stop and when will you stop backing candidates that pander to your baser instincts of fear and hate?
O'Donnell is a nut| 9.26.10 @ 11:59AM
Firstly, the GOP "establishment" didn't pick anyone for this race, the voters did. It is quite simply amazing that the people on here bitch and whine like a bunch of three year old crybabies everytime a candidate they don't like decides to mount a third party or write-in sore loser campaign, but when a candidate they like decides to the do the same exact thing, all of a sudden it is A-OK. Secondly, Doheny is not a RINO; he is much, much more conservative than Scozzafava. His positions are mostly indistinguishable from the guy HE BEAT IN THE PRIMARY. Thirdly, funding the most conservative candidates doesn't do a damn thing if they don't win. Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle and now Rand Paul (who is up only 2 points in the latest polls) are the perfect examples. Excepting Mike Castle, everyone beaten by the above candidates was conservative. The difference? They actually had a chance to win. Now we are stuck with probable losers in two states, KY and NV, when we could have had conservative candidates that would have won easily.
The most ridiculous thing that has come out of this year's election cycle is the absolutely ludicrous notion that if a candidate is supported by the GOP "establishment" he automatically is unworthy of support. In fact, the comment to which I am replying acts if being supported by the so-called "establishment" renders moot the candidates policy positions. Hey he is supported by the "establishment" He is automatically bad; hell, I won't evet bother finding out what he stands for. Who cares, right? After all, he is part of the "establishment". The ignorance of such a stance is unbelievable. There are a whole bunch of House candidates this year that were supported by the GOP "establishment" that are not RINOs. In fact, I would be willing to bet you don't know a goddamn thing about Doheny's policy positions. But none of that matters. What does matter is that HOFFMAN LOST IN THE PRIMARY. Hoffman is the sore loser who is going to cost the Republicans the race. This is the second time he has been rejected by the voters in the district. Take a fuc*ing hint.
Nick| 9.26.10 @ 1:10PM
"Secondly, Doheny is not a RINO; he is much, much more conservative than Scozzafava." - The Nut
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Boy, that something to run on!
"Vote for Doheny, he is MUCH MUCH less of a Marxist than Scozzafava!"
Does that mean Doheny is the same as the stinking liberal Castle?
Also, if you take away all the bogus ballots stuffed by the RINOs, Hoffman is the choice of the voters. He should've demanded a recount.
Buh-bye, RINOs, buh-bye!
Jonny-Boy| 9.26.10 @ 6:30PM
I'm amazed you managed to find evidence of ballot stuffing. Hoffman sure didn't. And if anyone is going to play any card in the deck to find a way not to admit defeat, it's Hoffman. . .
Nick| 9.27.10 @ 2:00PM
Jonny-Boy,
RINOs didn't need any facts when they attempted to smear Christine O'Donnell, did they? Like when they called her a witch. I'm just playing by liberal RINO rules.
Also, RINOs are liberals. And we all know that liberals will lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want. All for the greater good, you see.
So, it is very reasonable to assume that hack GOP machine operatives, like the ones that picked Scozzafava in the first place, would stuff the ballot boxes in favor of Doheny. Because Mr. Hoffman doesn't belong to their club.
Mr. Hoffman is the choice of the people. He is not running as an Independent, by the way. He is running on the Conservative Party ticket, which is a viable third party in New York. Therefore, he is not like Crist, Murkowski, and possibly stinking liberal Castle.
darcy| 9.25.10 @ 5:47PM
"The GOP on the other hand is rushing toward the extinction they so richly deserve. The Democrat-lite RINO beast cannot die fast enough. One Democrat Party is much more than enough. GOD save America from not only the Democrats, but also from The Stupid Party!"
Or, as I call them, The Redundant Party!
Great post, Mr. MacAlister.
O'Donnell is a nut| 9.26.10 @ 11:30AM
So let me get this straight. Doheny is ELECTED BY THE VOTERS IN THE PRIMARY, beating Hoffman, and Hoffman then decides to be sore loser and run as a third party candidate and it is Doheny is wrecking the GOP chances? You gotta be freakin kidding me. For people that complain non-stop about Murkowski, and possibly Mike Castle, running as a write- in candidate after a primary loss, it is hypocritical, to say the least, to claim it is Doheny, rather than Hoffman, that is wrecking it for the GOP. The voters chose Doheny. Don't elections matter anymore?
Interested Conservative| 9.26.10 @ 2:28PM
You seem pretty angry.
To be a bit calmer about - in NY there is a conservative party. It's called the Conservative Party". Commonly, but by no means always, the GOP candidate also runs on the Conservative party line. This has been going on for decades.
On the other hand, Sen. Buckley was elected as a Conservative, running against a democrat and republican candidate, decades ago.
Hoffman tried running in the GOP primary this time, and as you note there was no primary for the special. In both cases, he also chose to run as a Conservative. He may actually win this time, considering how close he came last time with a series or bizarre and late events. This time, everyone knows what's happening (unless Doheny also drops out and endorses Owens at the last moment).
As for Murk and Castle - so what? In Alaska, it is probably pointless, and certainly more vain considering Murkowski's history. As for Delaware, Castle's bid probably increase O'Donnell's chances significantly since her base is solid plurality, but not likely a majority. With a 3rd party run, she gains.
You seem to be confusing republicans with conservatives. They're not quite as similar as democrats and socialists, but they do overlap.
bert| 9.27.10 @ 2:36AM
So the logic here is the guy who won the gop primary should step aside so the sore loser can win ?
And that makes sense to who ?
It makes sense to his supporters becuase he did not win but he somehow is more pure in some way ?
Hoffman is a sore loser and intentionally helping the Dems win out of spite or revenge.
what a guy !
Mark| 9.27.10 @ 9:42AM
You got it wrong McCain. Doheny won the GOP nod fair and square. There was an open and honest primary, and Hoffman lost. You can't claim what Crist and Murkowski is doing is BS and at the same time give Hoffman a pass. Doheny is nothing like Scozzafava, either - he's conservative. Hoffman is the sore loser who may end up costing us this seat.