The Dede Scozzafava thing was not nearly that simple. The GOP rallied for her in the primary, the party took sides BECAUSE she was less conservative. Even after the facts were out there Newt backed her to the hilt and brought other “conservatives” along for the ride.
He was wrong and when he knew he was wrong he doubled down.
....
Newt is still 100X better than Romney though
In the absence of a primary she was chosen by the 11 Republican county chairmen in that district to run as the Republican nominee.
The rest follows, but it didn't involve a primary, or Republican party officials taking sides, or any of the facts you cite.
Newt is a party man and always has been. You people are crazy if you think a Republican can back a 3rd party candidate against one of their own and have any future in the party. That’s signing their own death warrant. What you’re basically asking then is why Newt didn’t leave the Republican party forever over Dede. Not gonna happen, not worth it. Newt also always believed you have to back some RINOs in districts where there’s no chance a pure conservative can win, which is pragmatic and accurate. Even the Tea Party acknowledged this when they backed Scott Brown.