In what was a generally good Election Day nationwide for Republicans and conservatives, Democrats prevailed in a special election in New York’s sprawling 23rd Congressional District.
The victory of William L. Owens, a Plattsburgh lawyer, would seem to be a setback for the Club for Growth, a powerful anti-tax group that has taken aim at moderate Republicans.
According to the Watertown Daily Times, the Club for Growth’s PAC spent $645,276 on the campaign of Douglas L. Hoffman, the Conservative party candidate and runner-up.
In addition, 2,500 Club for Growth members contributed $376,764 to Hoffman, bringing the total Club for Growth contribution to $1,022,040.
The race was held to fill the seat of Republican Rep. John H. McHugh, who resigned to become secretary of the Army.
It developed as a battleground within the Republican Party after party leaders in July chose Dede Scozzafava, a state assemblywoman from the small town of Gouverneur, as their candidate.
Scozzafava is conservative on many issues, but she supports same-sex marriage and is pro-choice.
In September, the Club for Growth threw its support to Hoffman, an accountant, endorsing a third-party candidate for the first time in its history.
In an essay in The Washington Examiner, Chris Chocola, the president of the Club for Growth, singled out what he said were Scozzafava’s liberal positions on a variety of issues as the reason the group was backing Hoffman.
“If Hoffman wins, it sends a signal to Obama and the Democrats that enough is enough,” wrote Chocola, a former Republican congressman from Indiana. “Now that’s something both the Club for Growth and most House Republicans could celebrate.”
Prominent Republican conservatives led by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and radio commentator Rush Limbaugh later endorsed Hoffman, leading to a surge in his candidacy.
Some Republicans, including Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, backed Scozzafava, who nonetheless lost her early lead in the polls. Short on funds, she suspended her campaign on Oct. 31.
The next day, after some prodding from national Democrats, Scozzafava endorsed Owens.
Hoffman, who lives in Lake Placid, just outside the congressional district, was ahead in the polls going into Tuesday’s election.
But with 95 percent of the votes tallied, Owens was leading 49 percent to 45 percent and was a sure winner. Scozzafava, whose name remained on the ballot, had 5.6 percent of the vote.
Hoffman characterized his defeat as a kind of victory, as he had made up so much ground during the past few weeks.
Voters told The Wall Street Journal that their decisions hinged more on local issues than hot-button national issues.
Regardless of the loss in New York state, the Club for Growth, which was founded in 1999, can claim to have contributed to many election victories in the past.
It has often targeted moderate Republicans in primaries, funding their more conservative opponents.
Republican senators Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Jim DeMint of South Carolina received almost $2 million between them from the Club for Growth during their 2004 primaries.
Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said that one reason he switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party this year was that he would not have survived a Republican primary in 2010.
The primary field would have included Patrick J. Toomey, the former president of the Club for Growth.
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2 Comments
#1. Harold 11.05.2009
Rush Limbaugh never endorsed Doug Hoffman. Limbaugh along with Glenn Beck are not politicians and do not represent the people. They are just radio jockeys. These people will never run for office. Hoffman came in as an unknown and in a month pulled away with 45% of the vote even with his own party attacking him in the end. Sarah Palin’s endorsed Hoffman setting off a chain of events that made Hoffman a national figure in the fight against socialism. There were no losers in this battle.
#2. Jeff 11.05.2009
Owens was also an unknown figure with no political background as well. This was one of the more unusual and interesting races you will ever see. You can say Hoffman didn’t lose, but if he had actually won, there would have been a orgiastic frenzy on the far right.
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