Nov 1, 2009 6:52 pm US/Eastern
NY GOP Scozzafava Endorses Democrat Bill Owens
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Republican Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for the New York House. (File)
CBS
A day after Republican state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava abruptly suspended her campaign in the New York special election, she's endorsing the Democrat in the race -- not the Conservative Party candidate favored by fellow Republicans.
Scozzafava said Sunday that Democrat Bill Owens is the best of the remaining candidates to build on the legacy of the previous holder of the 23rd Congressional District seat. Republican John McHugh has taken a position in the Obama administration.
A recent Siena College poll showed Scozzafava finishing a distant third behind Owens and conservative Doug Hoffman.
The special election is scheduled for Tuesday.
According to
Watertown Daily Times, Scozzafava said, "It's not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh's lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress."
"John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region. I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support to Drum Country just as John did during his tenure in Congress,
" Scozzafava added.
Fighting plunging support, Scozzafava abruptly suspended her campaign in a special election for a U.S. House seat that has exposed a rift among national factions of the party.
Scozzafava's critics said she's too moderate, even liberal.
"Conservative Republicans will undoubtedly claim victory in sidelining the moderate GOPer Scozzafava," said CBS News' director of political coverage Steve Chaggaris.
"This has been a big fight among Republicans over the past few weeks, with prominent Republicans such as Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty coming out in favor of the third-party candidate Hoffman, and Newt Gingrich supporting the GOP-backed Scozzafava."
Scozzafava had also received an endorsement from the National Rifle Association.
CBS News chief political consultant Marc Ambinder said Republicans will derive two lessons from the results of this race: "One is that the activist base of the party is becoming increasingly powerful in the one area that had eluded them: candidate selection. Other conservative Republicans may now feel more comfortable if they decide to challenge incumbents in primaries."
The second lesson, Ambinder says, is that "populist, regular-guy candidates can win in supposedly 'moderate' districts."
He also said Democrats will take the sidelining of Scozzafava as a positive trend for the long-term, believing that the Republican Party will conservatize itself to death demographically.
Campaign spokesman Matt Burns said Scozzafava is essentially withdrawing from the race, although her name will remain on Tuesday's ballot. She thinks stepping aside is best for the party, he said.
"It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support," Scozzafava said in a written statement Saturday. "Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit."
The announcement comes after a Siena College poll found she was in third place with 20 percent of the vote in the heavily Republican upstate New York district that has been safe ground for the party for more than 100 years. Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman and Democratic nominee Bill Owens were too close to call with 35 percent and 36 percent, respectively.
The race has pitted conservative and moderate wings of the Republican Party in a battle of ideology both nationally and statewide. Hoffman and his backers say Scozzafava is too liberal to represent the GOP, specifically noting her support of abortion rights and same-sex marriage.
In the short run, the development consolidates Republican voters behind the conservative candidate and improves the party's chances of retaining the seat in the 23rd Congressional District, which encompasses all or parts of 11 counties in rural northern and central New York.
Longer term, Democrats will cast this as a troubling sign for the GOP because it exemplifies that divide in the party between moderates and conservatives, with those further to the right, including the "Tea Party" movement, now getting the upper hand.
Scozzafava came into the race with what should have been a big advantage. She was popular in her Assembly district. The 23rd has been rock-solid Republican for decades, one of only three held by the GOP in New York's 29-seat Congressional delegation.
But she got caught in the push and pull of a larger challenge as the GOP tries to define itself.
She failed to catch voters like James Keech, a 71-year-old registered Republican from Oswego. He said Scozzafava is too far to the left. Meanwhile, Hoffman has been able to seize on feelings of disenfranchisement among upstate voters who have grown in number during President Barack Obama's short time in office, partly because of proposals for federally funded health care.
"I want someone who stands for something, someone who will take a position, not: 'Me too, I'm just like the other guy,' " he said, in an interview before Scozzafava announced her decision.
Sarah Palin and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson weighed in to throw their support behind Hoffman, and money poured into his campaign from all over the country.
"In today's political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money — and as I've been outspent on both sides, I've been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record," Scozzafava said.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Scozzafava's decision is a "selfless act" and that the committee is immediately endorsing Hoffman. That support will include financial backing and efforts to get voters to the polls.
Scozzafava also got a gentle nudge to step aside last week from congressional Republicans who had supported her candidacy. Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, tacitly acknowledged Thursday that Hoffman might be the stronger candidate for the party, saying the Conservative Party candidate would be "welcome in our conference."
The NRCC and RNC moved quickly Saturday to endorse Hoffman, but strategists said television ads run by NRCC in the district will continue criticizing Owens, not backing Hoffman.
Some have called the race a test of the GOP's future: whether traditional conservative ideology would lead the way forward or if a more inclusive approach would draw more people back to the party.
Hoffman already is thinking about how to bring the party back together, and said this race could be the start of "the resurgence of the Republican Party."
"I think her statement clearly implies that the important thing from this point on is that all of us Republicans combine forces to make sure that we get a congressman that will represent the values and the ideals of the 23rd District, and I believe I am that person," he told The Associated Press on Saturday.
"Everything in the last couple weeks has been overwhelming, but I think this has been the most overwhelming moment because I never expected it," he added.
Owens described Scozzafava as an honorable public servant, and said he's focusing on his own campaign, but blamed factions within the Republican Party for her early departure from the race.
"Obviously I think what has happened here, is the right wing extremists in the Republican Party have spent over a million dollars to drive her out of the race," Owens said Saturday night.
A Republican loss in the 23rd would leave the party with just two seats in the 29-member state congressional delegation.Republican Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for the New York House and is encouraging supporters to embrace Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman.
Campaign spokesman Matt Burns says the State Assemblywoman thinks dropping out of the 23rd Congressional District race is in the best interests of the party.
The announcement comes after a Siena College poll found she was in third place with 20 percent of the vote in the heavily-Republican district, while Hoffman and Democratic nominee Bill Owens were too close to call, with 35 percent and 36 percent, respectively.
The election is to fill the House seat vacated by Republican Congressman John McHugh, who was appointed by President Obama to become Secretary of the Army.
The election is Tuesday.
Quickly after Scozzafava's announcement, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said the RNC is endorsing Hoffman, saying the change of course is effective immediately and will include financial backing and get-out-the-vote efforts for the Conservative Party candidate.
Steele called Scozzafava's move a "selfless act."
The race has pitted conservative and moderate wings of the Republican Party as political leaders seek to stake out the future of the GOP. Some are pushing for an inclusive, moderate future, while the more conservative wing is willing to risk a Democratic win to send a message to Washington.
Scozzafava's critics said she's too moderate, even liberal.
"Conservative Republicans will undoubtedly claim victory in sidelining the moderate GOPer Scozzafava," said CBS News' director of political coverage Steve Chaggaris.
"This has been a big fight among Republicans over the past few weeks, with prominent Republicans such as Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty coming out in favor of the third-party candidate Hoffman, and Newt Gingrich supporting the GOP-backed Scozzafava."
Scozzafava had also received an endorsement from the National Rifle Association.
Other Republicans who have endorsed Hoffman include former N.Y. Governor George Pataki, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes.
CBS News chief political consultant Marc Ambinder said Republicans will derive two lessons from the results of this race: "One is that the activist base of the party is becoming increasingly powerful in the one area that had eluded them: candidate selection. Other conservative Republicans may now feel more comfortable if they decide to challenge incumbents in primaries."
The second lesson, Ambinder says, is that "populist, regular-guy candidates can win in supposedly 'moderate' districts."
He also said Democrats will take the sidelining of Scozzafava as a positive trend for the long-term, believing that the Republican Party will conservatize itself to death demographically.
"I'm fighting for the heart and soul of the Republican Party," Hoffman told The Associated Press last week. "I believe the people in Washington, and the overwhelming response that I've been getting nationally from individuals, is showing that a lot of people feel like it's time for the Republican Party to go back to its base."
In response, Scozzafava spokesperson Matt Burns last week characterized Hoffman's supporters as carpetbaggers: "Everybody who has endorsed Doug Hoffman has something in common with him, and that is that none of them live in the district."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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