Free Republic

Pataki would actually be behind 45-42 if he ran. It's pretty clear to me who should run, and that's Rudy. I'm willing to look past the issues like abortion where he is less than conservative if it means a sure win over Gillibrand. I'm pretty sure Pataki isn't so conservative either, so really there's not much of a choice. Don't they have to announce pretty soon whether they are running? In Texas the deadline to get on the primary ballot is January 4th.

Giuliani Said To Be Leaning Toward Senate Race N.Y. Times report says he's decided against run for governor Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was reported by The New York Times to have ruled out a run for governor. By MICHAEL GORMLEY Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y. - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is leaning toward running for the U.S. Senate rather than making a bid for governor, two Republican advisers said Thursday. "From staff, we have been hearing that he has been indicating quietly and privately recently that governor might not be the best fit for him...

There’s been virtually no change over the past two months in the hypothetical Election 2010 Senate match-up in New York State between Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand and former Governor George Pataki. Including the fact that Pataki still hasn’t announced for the race. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds Gillibrand leading Pataki 45% to 42%. Seven percent (7%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent are undecided. The survey was taken Tuesday night prior to news reports that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is planning to run against Gillibrand.

Published reports out today have squelched the long-standing rumors that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will run for governor of New York State. But, what if Giuliani makes a bid for the U.S. Senate? Giuliani leads U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democrat appointed by Governor David Paterson to fill the vacant seat left by Hillary Clinton. 54% of registered voters statewide would vote for Giuliani compared with 40% who would support Gillibrand. Even one-third of Democrats report they would back the Republican challenger, and Giuliani runs competitively against Gillibrand in overwhelmingly Democratic New York City.

Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has decided not to run for governor of New York next year after months of mulling a candidacy, according to people who have been told of the decision. .. It remains unclear whether the former mayor is considering any other political race in 2010. Some have urged him to take on the newly installed Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who has never run statewide and is still introducing herself to voters in parts of the state. The decision will be a boon to other Republican contenders. So far, Rick Lazio, a former congressman from Long Island,...

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has decided not to run for governor next year - but will run for U.S. Senate instead, sources told the Daily News. A source familiar with Giuliani's thinking said the failed presidential candidate has been telling people he plans to run against Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010 to fill out the remaining two years of Hillary Clinton's term. If elected, the source said, he could use that as a stepping stone to run for President in 2012 - rather than run for re-election to the Senate. A Giuliani spokeswoman downplayed the reports. "Rudy has a...

Bringing those accused in the Sept. 11 attacks to New York for trial would increase the security threat to the city and give radical Islamists a platform to propagate their ideology, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Sunday. Giuliani's view that the Obama administration is erring in trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others near the site of the World Trade Center was echoed by other Republicans on the Sunday news programs. Democrats defended the decision of Attorney General Eric Holder to try the five in New York where more than 2,000 civilians were killed on Sept. 11. If...

Who is Dede Scozzfava? ... "This is my party, too," she insisted. "There are a lot of moderate people - Republicans, like me - and I'm hearing from an awful lot of them. And I think the Republican Party needs to know if they don't have room for us and they don't want us working with them, we're going to find a way to work against them." She acknowledged that many in the GOP would differ with her support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage. But she maintained that she approached those views from a conservative vantage point - a...

Reacting to media reports that Nancy Pelosi “secretly” dispatched a top lieutenant to meet with Dede Scozzafava before the Assemblywoman’s shocking endorsement of Bill Owens, Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long called for a Federal Election Commission investigation of any “illicit inducements” that may have been offered in exchange for Scozzafava’s support. “It a matter of public record that the Scozzafava family company is in financial difficulty. All her public statements about her withdraw mentioned money problems. Nancy Pelosi is desperate to win this seat,” Long said, adding: “Can it be a mere coincidence that Dede demand a face-to-face meeting, then...

Having been in the position of watching my favored candidate stumble badly in an endorsement session while a more liberal Republican alternative hit all the right notes, I reserved my opinion on the goings-on in the recent Congressional race in New York's 23 Congressional District. Now that it is over, I have concluded that while the local Republican Party leadership's endorsement of Dede Scozzafava may have been a what-in-the-world-were-they-thinking moment, I suspect that many would now be saying, "Can't they do any better than this?", had they had endorsed Doug Hoffman from the beginning. While Hoffman may have hit most...

... don’t believe the fact that Hoffman is a social conservative was the reason for his loss, but when it comes to priorities, Simon makes a point worth considering: Hoffman’s capital “C” Conservative campaign tried to separate itself from the majority parties by making a big deal of the social issues. He was all upset that Scozzafava was pro-gay marriage, seemingly as upset as he was with her support for the stimulus plan. The majority of Americans are conservative — not just on matters of fiscal policy, but also on many social issues. After all, in the last presidential campaign...

The big topic of discussion this week is the role conservatism played in the wins in Virginia, New Jersey, and elsewhere, as well as in the loss of New York’s 23rd congressional district. Recent polls show that many more Americans self-identify as conservative than liberal, so it should not be terribly surprising that so many conservative candidates won Tuesday. It should not even be terribly surprising that some won big. Though if that is the case, what is the explanation for Doug Hoffman’s loss in New York? There are many possible reasons — including the spectacle that the race turned...

Republican leaders in New York are raising the possibility of "punishing" state Rep. Dede Scozzafava, who withdrew from the race for Congress in New York's 23rd district and endorsed a Democrat, the Los Angeles Times' Top of the Ticket reports. Scozzafava endorsed Bill Owens after national Republicans backed third-party candidate Doug Hoffman and undermined support for her campaign. Conservatives said Scozzafava, who supports gay rights and abortion rights, was too liberal to run as a Republican. New York Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb has been holding meetings with Scozzafava, in which he expressed his displeasure with her endorsement. He has...

WASHINGTON – It was a big election night for Republicans overall. But their lone disappointment – the loss of a New York congressional seat in a crossfire between moderates and conservatives – could portend struggles next year for GOP leaders. Channeling the Tea Party-inspired energy is a particular headache for Dallas Rep. Pete Sessions, whose costly effort to keep the New York seat was a casualty of the civil war. "There's a huge revolt going on in the country against the political establishment," said former Virginia congressman Tom Davis, who once held the challenging political job that Sessions now has...

Conservatives owe NY-23 candidate Doug Hoffman immeasurable gratitude. He overcame impossible odds (single digits just a month ago) to come within two points of defeating Democrat Bill Owens. Hoffman had zero name recognition. National Republican Party officials dumped nearly $1 million into the race on behalf of radical leftist GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava, who then turned around, endorsed Owens and siphoned off 5 percent of the vote with her name still on the ballot after she dropped out. Conservatives’ money went to pay for specious attack ads against Hoffman run by the NRCC like this. Conservatives’ money went to...

<p>ALBANY, N.Y. - Democrat Bill Owens had an early lead in a special Congressional election in northern New York that grabbed national headlines in its final days as it highlighted divisions within the Republican Party.</p> <p>Owens led with 51.4 percent to 43.7 percent for Doug Hoffman, a member of New York's Conservative Party, with just 29 percent of precincts reporting in New York's 23rd House district.</p>

New York Republicans got a rock in their trick-or-treat bags over the Halloween weekend, as Dede Scozzafava ripped off her million-dollar Republican mask and revealed herself to be a Democrat. It was never a very good disguise, but every previous attempt to peer beneath it was punished with stern lectures from Newt Gingrich and the rest of the party establishment. The bags of contributor money Republicans handed to the Scozzafava campaign would have been more usefully spent hiring detectives to trail ACORN operatives, and keep Democrat voter fraud down to manageable levels. The Scozzafava campaign is the latest dreadful mistake...

Assemb. Dede Scozzafava (R) may be crossing party lines to support atty Bill Owens (D), but her now ex-mgr Matt Burns isn't going along with that decision. "Dede is entitled to her own opinion, as is everyone, but I obviously disagree with her decision," Burns told us today, a day after leaving the campaign. "I am supporting Doug Hoffman, because denying Nancy Pelosi another foot soldier is vital to restoring fiscal responsibility and common sense in Washington." Burns, who was raised in the CD but now works in MN, said he decided to join Scozzafava's team in order to keep...

Media Release WATERTOWN, N.Y., November 1, 2009  —  Matching a pledge that they made to Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava, the House GOP leadership has now promised to offer Conservative Doug Hoffman "the next available" seat on the House Armed Services Committee if he wins Tuesday's vote. Here's the full statement issued today. “Doug Hoffman has our full support for the next available seat on the House Armed Services Committee so he can best serve the interests of Fort Drum and the troops and military families of New York’s Twenty-Third Congressional District. “The strategic and economic importance of this military base...

Media Release WATERTOWN, N.Y., November 1, 2009  —  Doug Hoffman the Conservative candidate for Congress in New York’s 23rd District today received the endorsement of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.  Rudy Giuliani said: “On Tuesday, the voters of the North Country have a very clear choice when they cast their vote for Congress. It’s a choice between a tax and spend Nancy Pelosi Democrat and a common sense conservative Republican named Doug Hoffman. “Doug Hoffman has what it takes to be a great Congressman. He’s not a professional politician; he’s a private citizen, and a successful small businessman....