Posted on 09/18/2010 4:32:51 AM PDT by ejdrapes
23RD DISTRICT RACE: Upstate group may now support Doheny One hundred tea partiers made Douglas L. Hoffman's Republican candidacy possible. Now 1,000 are considering whether their group should help get his opponent elected in the 23rd Congressional District. Members of the Upstate New York Tea Party, Plattsburgh, overwhelmingly supported Mr. Hoffman over fellow Republican Matthew A. Doheny during a May poll. But with Mr. Doheny holding a 582-vote lead with 1,969 absentee ballots to be counted in the GOP primary, Chairman Mark L. Barie will take his group's pulse again. Mr. Barie said he expects to build a consensus by next week either to use the organization's limited resources to support Mr. Doheny or to work solely to prevent the re-election of Democrat William L. Owens without backing a specific candidate. He said continuing to support Mr. Hoffman, the Conservative nominee, is not an option. It would be hypocritical, he said, for the group to decry the choosing of a handpicked candidate during last fall's special election and then support Mr. Hoffman after he lost the GOP primary. Mr. Hoffman is on the Conservative line this fall because he was given it by party Chairman Michael R. Long. ADVERTISEMENT Mr. Barie said Mr. Hoffman's campaign, not his group, was to blame for the candidate's loss. He said the operation was poorly organized and unfocused and did not know how to capitalize on Mr. Hoffman's popularity from last year. Chris Baker, the campaign director, works in Arizona, he noted. Patrick Gerhart, the campaign manager, was from Nebraska. Two field people were from Texas, and Robert H. Ryan, Mr. Hoffman's spokesman, is perpetually downstate, Mr. Barie said. He does blame himself for not seeing the campaign's weaknesses before he learned his 140 volunteers collected more signatures for the GOP primary than Mr. Hoffman's entire team. The candidate needed 1,250 valid signatures. Mr. Hoffman's team, according to Mr. Barie, collected 1,500, while UNYTEA chipped in 2,100 signatures. "I've never bashed Doug Hoffman. He's a great guy," Mr. Barie said. "But I am not being shy about bashing his campaign staff, because I don't want the tea party to take blame for that mess." Mr. Ryan said Mr. Barie is a "political neophyte who simply doesn't understand how modern campaigns operate." The campaign spokesman added: "The GOP primary will be decided when the voting machines have been recanvassed and the absentee ballots have been be counted. It's refreshing that the majority of UNYTEA members do not share his defeatist attitude." Mr. Barie said he imagines 10 percent of his flock will help Mr. Hoffman run a third-party candidacy, 20 percent to 30 percent will sit out the race and the balance will agree to help Mr. Doheny. Some in his group, he said, find Mr. Doheny "too fast, too slick, a little too glib. Some people are impressed with that. Yes, he's a little brash, with a touch of arrogance, but he's going to need that to beat Bill Owens." Alison M. Power, Mr. Doheny's spokeswoman, said Thursday her candidate called Mr. Barie to ask for UNYTEA's support. "Truth be told, starting from the day after we endorsed the Hoffman campaign, the Doheny campaign has been in constant touch with me," Mr. Barie said. "They wanted to keep the lines of communication open. We weren't plotting any plans."Tea party may stop backing Hoffman
By JUDE SEYMOUR
TIMES STAFF WRITER
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2010
Somehow I think the 23rd District just doesn’t understand what the Tea Party is really all about and doesn’t get fiscal conservatism.
I am also against third party runs by a candidate that loses in a primary.
Agreed.
Do you know if either are for ending the Employer based Taxing system and forcing the government to collect direct from individuals?
Hoffman was needed against Scozzafava. He is NOT needed against Doheny.
Going third party for sour grapes or just for the sake of destroying your primary opponent’s chances of winning in the general makes you a suicide bomb Republican.
Oh, I hate to see this! :*(
I’m praying for Doug Hoffman, I hope Sarah Palin comes to his rescue again! The other guy is a bit too slick for me, makes me wonder how easy it might be for him to turn RINO? Granted I don’t have all the details on this race...still hoping the people there come through for Doug.
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