How Did the GOP End Up With Scozzafava?
Across the country, Republicans are scratching their heads and wondering, “How in the world did we end up with Scozzafava?” How did the GOP pick someone who is in favor of card check and had been approached by the Democrats to be their nominee? How did the Republicans in upstate New York choose a candidate who, according to one rating system, is more liberal than 43% of New York State Assembly Democrats?
The answer lies in Scozzafava’s close friendship with fellow Assemblywoman and Clinton County Chairperson Janet Duprey. “Dede and Janet Duprey are soul mates when it comes to voting,” said Mike Long, chairman of the New York Conservative Party, in an interview with NewMajority. Going against the wishes of her county’s delegation, Duprey abruptly switched her vote to put her pal Dede over the top.
When Rep. John McHugh resigned to become the Secretary of the Army, Republicans in NY-23 hastily prepared a candidate selection process that assigned weighted votes to the county chairpersons of the district’s eleven counties.
As the county chair for Clinton County, where 11% of the district’s Republicans live, Janet Duprey wielded power over 11% of the district’s ballots. Unfortunately for Duprey, Clinton County Republicans were dead set against the Scozzafava nomination.
In the first ballot of the candidate selection process, Scozzafava led the pack of three contenders with 45% of the ballots cast. Initially, Duprey consented to the wishes of her delegation and cast her vote for Paul Maroun, who was viewed as more conservative. In the second ballot, however, Assemblywoman Duprey abruptly changed her vote to Scozzafava, sealing Scozzafava’s nomination.
Duprey has since acknowledged that her delegation had wanted Maroun as their nominee, admitting that “the Clinton County committee members... voted for the candidate they supported. Paul Maroun received the majority of the votes.” Janet Duprey later justified her shift by saying that “it was clear that Dede was the winner... Everyone wants a winner.”
Republicans in upstate New York were aware that the Conservative Party would not support Scozzafava’s nomination, but likely nominated her despite this on the grounds that the Conservative Party would probably not be able to come up with a viable candidate.
“I was willing to support any other [Republican] candidate running [in NY-23], and I let it be known to the Republican Party, but they went with her. They just assumed that we weren’t going to be able to mount a serious campaign... now she’s going to come in dead last,” said Michael Long.
Indeed, Scozzafava’s candidacy is becoming a lost cause – internal polling from both the Republicans and the Democrats show her in third place. “As it stands, Scozzafava’s campaign is in a lot of trouble,” said Steven Greenberg, a Siena Institute pollster, to NewMajority. A picture of a poorly executed Scozzafava campaign event sums it up – her votes are flowing swiftly to the Conservative Party.
Polling numbers have changed dramatically over the last few weeks due to the massive amount of cash being spent in the district, and the furious pace of campaigning that this is allowing. The Washington Post reported that the Club for Growth alone spent $700,000 in support of Hoffman’s campaign.
“$200,000 to $300,000 owns the TV market up here [in NY-23]... it’s easy to spend money in upstate New York. Money is coming in from the DCCC, the NRCC, the Club for Growth... Every time you watch TV, you see a commercial for one of the candidates. Every time you check your mail, you see a direct mail envelope from the campaigns,” noted Greenberg.
Greenberg said that an October 1st poll made it look unlikely that Hoffman could win the election. However, just two weeks later, Hoffman’s poll numbers have risen dramatically. “Hoffman is now competitive,” he added. “It will come down to the wire.”