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Republican state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for upstate New York's 23rd Congressional seat, leaving Democratic nominee Bill Owens and Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman in the race that will conclude Tuesday. The move comes on the heels of a new poll that showed Scozzafava had fallen behind her two competitors in a race too close. The Siena College poll has Owens picking up 36 percent of the vote, while Hoffman has 35 percent. Scozzafava has 20 percent, with nine percent of voters undecided. It's a turnaround from the first Siena poll on the race in September, which...

Dede Scozzafava, the Republican and Independence parties candidate, announced Saturday that she is suspending her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District and releasing all her supporters. The state Assemblywoman has not thrown her support to either Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, or Bill Owens, the Democratic candidate. "Today, I again seek to act for the good of our community," Ms. Scozzafava wrote in a letter to friends and supporters. "It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign...

Stacy McCain reports today that Dede Scozzafava has quit the special election in New York after an independent pollster found her badly trailing both Douglas Hoffman and Democrat Bob Owens. Reportedly, she tearfully withdrew and threw her support to Hoffman: Just confirmed that Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava has quit the race. Speaking to supporters, Scozzafava broke down in tears. UPDATE: Scozzafava, the hand-picked choice of the New York state GOP in the key 23rd District special election, reportedly will throw her support to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.

State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R) announced on Saturday she would suspend her campaign to fill former Rep. John McHugh's open House seat, citing dismal poll numbers just days before the much-hyped special election. Her exit from the race offers serious momentum to Doug Hoffmam, the Conservative Party candidate who has stolen from Scozzafava a slew of important GOP endorsements and donations in recent weeks. "Today, I again seek to act for the good of our community," Scozzafava wrote in a letter to supporters, obtained by the Watertown Daily Times. "It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of...

"Today, I again seek to act for the good of our community," "It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so. I am and have always been a proud Republican. It is my hope that with my actions today, my party will emerge stronger and our district and our nation can take an important step towards restoring the enduring strength and economic prosperity that has defined us for...

Breaking DeDe has dropped out of the race here in the NY-23. A source colse to the Hoffman campaign confirms that DeDe Scozzafava has bowed out of the race. Stay tunes to 73wire for more details and audio of Dede addressing supporters.

Steele: Hoffman win is a GOP win By: Andy Barr October 30, 2009 04:10 PM EST Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Friday that a victory by Doug Hoffman, the third-party candidate in the Nov. 3 New York special election, is a win for the GOP. The actual Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, trails Hoffman, the Conservative Party nominee, and Democrat Bill Owens by double-digits according to a recent poll. But Steele argued during an interview with POLITICO that the GOP doesn’t need to worry about Scozzafava’s lagging ratings because Hoffman is essentially a Republican. “You’ve got two Republicans running...

The events of the last 24 hours have pretty much clinched it: NY-23 is now officially a two-man race between the Democratic nominee Bill Owens and the Conservative Party upstart Doug Hoffman. From NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions to former Gov. George Pataki to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani (through his operative, Jake Menges), Republicans are quickly abandoning their nominee, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, and backing Hoffman in a last-ditch effort to keep former Rep. John McHugh's seat in GOP hands and, perhaps more importantly, deny the Obama administration a much-needed political victory. "I think it’s now to a point where we’ve got...

Former New York Gov. George Pataki endorsed Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman tonight, the clearest sign yet that even the most establishment New York Republicans now view Hoffman as having the best shot at preventing a Democrat from winning next Tuesday's special election.

n shift, GOP leaders embrace Hoffman By: Alex Isenstadt and Josh Kraushaar October 29, 2009 05:57 PM EST The House Republican leadership is prepared to welcome Doug Hoffman into its ranks, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said Thursday, a sign that the GOP establishment is recalibrating its approach toward the contentious New York special election and the Conservative Party nominee whose candidacy has divided the party. “He would be very welcome, with open arms,” Sessions told POLITICO in an interview off the House floor. Sessions’s comments came as polls showed Hoffman surging in the Nov. 3 special...

THE hard-fought battle be tween the left, the near-left and the right being waged in New York's 23rd Congressional District has attracted national attention because of its serious implications for scores of congressional races across the country next year. The stakes for national Democrats and Republicans are enormous. The three-way North Country contest is a referendum on President Obama's policies and on the GOP's willingness to back RINO (Republican In Name Only) candidates in traditionally moderate-to-conservative districts.

Never underestimate the stupidity of the Republican Party leadership. In the midst of an attempted power grab of unprecedented proportions by the current Democratic administration that is turning off millions of Americans...as TEA parties and town hall protests against massive government intervention continue to spread...as large percentages of Democrats are recoiling as they find "hope and change" really meant "control and loss of freedom"...the Republican Party has been presented with the chance to saddle this momentum and ride it to power. -snip- -snip-.... astute and prudent Republican leaders would recognize this as an incredible opportunity to field candidates who appeal...

From what we were able to see in Watertown, NY, the Scozzafava campaign is being driven by beltway Republican organizations. Not only is the NRCC pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into the media campaign of Dede Scozzafava, they’re also organizing and coordinating teams of GOTV volunteers in the district. And they’re picking up the tab. Our team just finished meeting with a NRCC volunteer named “James” who works out of the Watertown office for the Scozzafava campaign. James informed us that he was sent to Watertown, NY from Washington D.C. as a volunteer for the NRCC. We asked about...

A team of conservative bloggers with 73Wire.com arrived in upstate New York's 23rd District this morning and visited the headquarters of liberal Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava: Not only is the NRCC pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into the media campaign of Dede Scozzafava, they're also organizing and coordinating teams of GOTV volunteers in the district. And they're picking up the tab. Our team just finished meeting with a NRCC volunteer named "James" who works out of the Watertown office for the Scozzafava campaign. James informed us that he was sent to Watertown, NY from Washington D.C. as a volunteer...

[The 23rd Congressional District in upstate New York is locked in an election battle that echoes far beyond Watertown. When the local Republican party nominated Assembly member Dede Scozzafava, some conservatives balked, objecting that her positions (on gay marriage, abortion and spending) are too liberal. Local businessman Doug Hoffman decided to run as the Conservative Party candidate to oppose both the Democrat, Bill Owens, and Scozzafava in the November election. Hoffman tells The Post why the Republican Party needs to return to its base.] At this time, three months ago, I was wrestling with a decision. A decision as to...

Republicans are telling themselves that a political wave is building that could carry them to big election gains next year. Judging by their performance so far in a special election in New York, however, they deserve to wander in the minority for another generation or two. The November 2 contest will replace nine-term Republican John McHugh, who resigned to become Secretary of the Army. President Obama carried the district along the Canadian border with 52%, but George W. Bush carried it twice and Republicans outnumber Democrats by 45,000 or so. With voters alarmed about the economy and runaway spending, this...

-snip- The November 2 contest will replace nine-term Republican John McHugh, who resigned to become Secretary of the Army. President Obama carried the district along the Canadian border with 52%, but George W. Bush carried it twice and Republicans outnumber Democrats by 45,000 or so. With voters alarmed about the economy and runaway spending, this ought to be an easy GOP retention. Yet party bosses have managed to nominate a rare Republican who could lose: Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, whose liberal record has caused voters to flee to Doug Hoffman, a business executive who is running on the Conservative line. Mr....

Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava is not your typical Republican candidate. Running in a special election in upstate New York for the seat of departing Congressman John McHugh, she has, naturally, picked up the support of state and national Republican party officials. She has secured the full support of the National Republican Congressional Committee and that of its chairman, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions. But, she has also picked up the support of the DailyKos, not a traditionally deep well of support for Republicans. Oh, and ACORN’s Working Families Party. Below is a memo Big Government obtained circulating among leaders of the conservative...

ALBANY - Bronx state Sen. Pedro Espada, whose defection to the Republican camp helped trigger the current Senate crisis, will return to the Democratic fold and end the month-long Senate stalemate, The Post has learned. Espada, whose defection to the Republicans was the main reason for Gov. Paterson's controversial action yesterday "naming" Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor, revealed his startling plans to The Post.

Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. has returned to the fold, giving the Democrats a 32-30 majority in the state Senate—again—and taking the title majority leader. Espada (D-Bronx) said during a news conference this afternoon that his disagreement with fellow Democrats on June 8, which led to a Republican-led coup, “has never been about titles,” though he received the title of temporary president as a result of the coup. “Today I stand here with another title,” he said. “I tell you very clearly, I have always been a Democrat. I will continue to be a Democrat. I never left home. I had...