October 23, 2009 6:47 AM

Palin Snubs Republican Candidate in House Race

By
Steve Chaggaris
Topics
In The News
(AP Photo/Al Grillo)
Sarah Palin continues her re-emergence.

Thursday night on her Facebook page, she endorsed Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate for the Nov. 3 special election in New York's 23rd congressional district.

"Unfortunately, the Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate who more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race," Palin wrote.

Click here to read Palin's full statement.

Expect even more chatter about this race being a fight for the future of the GOP; conservative vs. moderate, etc.

This is the seat that was held for years by former Rep. John McHugh, a moderate Republican who is now President Obama's Army Secretary.

Moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava was favored to win over Democrat Bill Owens, until Hoffman began gaining some steam and splitting the Republican vote.

Hoffman was also endorsed Thursday by Dick Armey; Fred Thompson has also backed him and the conservative Club for Growth has run ads on his behalf (and calling both the Democrat and Republican "liberals"). For her part, Scozzafava has the support of the National Republican Congressional Committee and Newt Gingrich.

The latest polling (Siena, 10/15) in the district, which covers most of northern New York State, shows the Democrat Owens in the lead with 33 percent (up 5 points from Siena's Oct.1 poll), the Republican Scozzafava with 29 (down 6) and Hoffman with 23 (up 7).

What's more important is that among Republicans, Scozzafava only gets 40 percent with Hoffman getting 27 percent. Hoffman leads among independents with 31 percent. Owens gets 28 percent of independents and Scozzafava 24 percent.

Conservatives are looking at this as a prime opportunity to derail a moderate and make a statement that the GOP should move to the right, not to the center.

However, given that this is a moderate district (Obama won with 52 percent of the vote in 2008, Bush with 53 percent in 2004 and former Rep. McHugh repeatedly won easily as a moderate), a third-party conservative candidate has a slim chance of actually winning the seat.

What's more likely: Hoffman derails Scozzafava's chance at winning, handing the Democrat Owens a victory and House Democrats another seat on Nov. 3.

While that may embolden conservatives to try to derail moderate Republicans across the country, this election may not prove a major indicator of the direction of the GOP.

There are still many Republican leaders that are pushing for moderates to be part of the fray, including NRSC Chairman Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., who has recruited such moderates as Charlie Crist in Florida and Mike Castle in Delaware to run for Senate next year, as well as Gingrich.

In his endorsement of Scozzafava, Gingrich wrote: "I have learned that if America wants a conservative majority in Washington, parts of that majority are going to disagree. I was elected Speaker because a number of moderates voted for me. They gave us control of the House for the first time in forty years, allowing us to balance the federal budget, cut taxes and reform welfare for America... My number one interest is to build a Republican majority. If your interest is taking power back from the Left, and your interest is winning the necessary elections, then there are times when you have to put together a coalition that has disagreement within it. We have to decide which business we are in. If we are in the business about feeling good about ourselves while our country gets crushed then I probably made the wrong decision."

Charles Cooper: Republicans Taking A Page From Democrats' Playbook?


Steve Chaggaris is CBS News' Political Director. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here.

Add a Comment See all 194 Comments
by c_johnthan October 25, 2009 10:57 AM EDT
TooComplex:
>beliefs are far from the mainstream. If she runs for >any public office, she will split the Republican >constituency.
-----------------
your probelm, is that you will never admit you are not one of the mainstream.

another probelm is that you will never be impressed by palin. yes, you did't say it, some one of you said it, or i think you will say it.

----------------
you know what my probelm is? let me tell ya, that is, i think i represent the mainstream of america.

:-)))
Reply to this comment
by JV1970 October 24, 2009 9:54 PM EDT
I completely agree with Sarah! I don't like the turn the republican party is taking lately. They are turning away from their core values. If they continue on this path I'll be doing the same thing that Sarah has done, except I'm just a citizen and a voter and can't really "endorse" anyone. I can, though, cross party lines and vote for the candidate that best represents my views even if they are not a republican. That's exactly what I'll do if the republicans continue on their present course. If things get worse and I feel that the republicans no longer represent me I can even change my party affiliation if it comes to that. I don't want to do that because that is why I left the democratic party years ago. I hope and pray that the republican party returns to their core values soon!
Reply to this comment
by JV1970 October 24, 2009 9:40 PM EDT
daffy64 What are you afraid of? You are no different than the rest of the Palin haters on this board, especially the men. You feel threatened by her. I think you are like a lot of other men of today who are still living in the past. You think that women should be kept at home, barefoot and pregnant. You probably even hate the fact that women were given the vote! You probably also think that women should vote the way their husbands tell them to vote and shouldn't have a mind of their own! You are living in the dark ages and it's time you moved into the 21st century! The women of today are educated and have minds of their own and they use them!
Reply to this comment
by irreverent1-2009 October 23, 2009 5:14 PM EDT
Just like the Republicans to say your not a Patriot unless they say so and now your not even a Republican unless you pass their litmus test. Who's next?
Reply to this comment
by Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-01 October 23, 2009 5:18 PM EDT
Puppies and small children.
by stuart-johns2 October 23, 2009 5:13 PM EDT
Well. I have been saying all along that the republican party was hi-jacked by a bunch of reight wing extremists. This story is proof.

Newt picks a moderate republican and what does Palin-silly do? She picks an extremist. And who was saying the dems have to worry in 2010?

That's a laugh. Palin (an extremists and a dumb one at that...wait....is there any that are intelligent?) and all the other extremists are fighting for the heart and soul of the republican party. Just great. And I thought they could'nt get any more disfunctional than they already were.
Reply to this comment
by troutfishyman October 23, 2009 4:57 PM EDT
What is Sarah measuring in this photo?



What she is hoping for that night?
Reply to this comment
by hungry1968-16 October 23, 2009 5:46 PM EDT
"Oh Levi, Oh Levi, Oh Levi......"
by Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-01 October 23, 2009 4:54 PM EDT
by Mortarman_29 October 23, 2009 4:44 PM EDT
This is GREAT for the GOP. If they can keep this up...the conservatives will return to the party.

And then they can start winning again.
========================================

Silly
Reply to this comment
by eightsigma October 23, 2009 4:58 PM EDT
Don't discourage them. Sarah is a Democrat's best friend.
by troutfishyman October 23, 2009 4:53 PM EDT
by seanile October 23, 2009 4:29 PM EDT
damn, she's hot looking!!! I truly hope she is the face of the republican party!!!!!!!!!!!

Better than ANY I've ever seen :))))

Sorry dems ;))))))))))))))))))))



Another Palin Leg Humper, LOL!
Reply to this comment
by Lawyers-Guns-n-Money-01 October 23, 2009 5:05 PM EDT
Awww, leave Sarah alone. I don't hold anything against her. I'd like to hold something against her.
by eightsigma October 23, 2009 4:51 PM EDT
Sarah,

For Democrats, you're the gift that keeps on giving.
Bless your little heart.

You betcha!
Reply to this comment
by bradkt1 October 23, 2009 4:40 PM EDT
No matter what the outcome is in this Congressional election, this is an excellent development for the Democratic Party. This effort only sows the seeds for the further disintegration of the Republican Party. It is no blow to Democrats if either the Republican nonimee or the conservative favorite wins the general election. This election is for a GOP House seat that hasn't elected a Democrat since the Civil War and, even there, it opened up the possibility that a Democratic candidate could sneak in and win a three candidate race when the Democratic candidate had no prayer of winning a in a two candidate race. If this tactic works, it could only work in districts that are overwhelmingly Republican anyway. There are not that many districts left that fit this description. In an election in a Congressional district where, let's say, the GOP has a 55%-45% or even a 60%-40% advantage among registered voters, the Democratic candidate has an excellent chance to win the general election. In this election, the Democrat is ahead with 33% or so of the registered voters. At the end of the day, if conservatives attempt to replicate this effort on either a regional or a national scale, it will only result in the election to office of even more Democratic candidates. It also consumes large amounts of financial resources that would be more wisely spent campaigning against Democratic candidates.

Keep up the good work Republicans.
Reply to this comment
by Mortarman_29 October 23, 2009 4:44 PM EDT
This is GREAT for the GOP. If they can keep this up...the conservatives will return to the party.

And then they can start winning again.
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