2009: Endorsed by GOP candidate against Tea Party nominee
[In a 2009 N.Y. Special Election] the Conservative Party refused to endorse Republican Dede Scozzafava. Instead, it nominated Doug Hoffman. But the national Republicans threw their support behind Scozzafava. The Republican Party establishment stood
against grassroots citizens.
As would become a pattern in elections to come, the Tea Party movement "nationalized" this election. Activists from all over N.Y. were getting involved in Hoffman's underdog bid.
[Third in the polls], Scozzafava, the
Republican, endorsed the Democrat, Bill Owens. "Since beginning my campaign, I have told you that this election is not about me; it's about the people of this district," she claimed. "It is in this spirit that I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and
urge you to do the same."
Owens ended up winning by capturing 48% of the vote, with the Hoffman receiving 46%. Everyone agreed that Scozzafava's decision to team with the Democratic Party had been the margin of difference in Hoffman's defeat.
Owens won a special election in Nov. 2009, winning a seat the Republicans had controlled since 1872. He was elected only because the Republican candidate was so liberal that the district's GOP voters rejected her. She dropped out and endorsed the
Democrat. Meanwhile, conservatives waged a strong campaign for Doug Hoffman, who ran as the nominee of the Conservative Party. Despite all these handicaps, Owens won only 49-45. Democrats hailed it as a great victory, but it was really a fluke.
Source: Take Back America, by Dick Morris, p.231-232
, Apr 13, 2010
