Word: scozzafava
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...seat, a sprawling northern district that stretches to the Canadian border. The White House tapped the former occupant, Republican John McHugh, to be the Secretary of the Army, in part to put the seat in play. Democratic businessman Bill Owens was scheduled to face off against liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava, who was nominated by local party leaders in a closed process. National conservatives, including Sarah Palin and several potential presidential candidates, rallied around a third-party candidate, conservative multi-millionaire accountant Doug Hoffman. That sent an ongoing debate within the party into hyperdrive: Is it more likely to reverse...
...Over the weekend, Scozzafava, her support crumbling in the face of Hoffman's well-financed blitz, quit the race and endorsed Owens. National Democratic officials and leftist pundits are arguing that even if Hoffman wins the race and keeps the seat in Republican hands, it will show that the GOP is hopelessly addicted to appeasing a shrinking conservative base that represents about a quarter of the total electorate. If Owens is victorious, Democrats plan to argue that the opposition is badly divided and unable to run big-tent candidates...
...While it is true that there is a tactical split in the Republican Party, the circumstances in this contest are unusual - and unlikely to be representative of a broader pattern. Scozzafava is an exceedingly liberal Republican and Hoffman is not as conservative as some are making him out to be. Still, there will be cases next year in which right-wing forces may be emboldened to support primary challenges to more moderate candidates, potentially dividing...
...Scozzafava hasn't exactly helped herself. At one point she called 911 after a Weekly Standard reporter followed her to her car asking questions about taxes. The gaffe soon became fodder for a Hoffman radio ad. Then Scozzafava, hoping to chide Hoffman into participating in more debates, appeared in front of his headquarters as a one-woman protest - an image that would make any political handler cringe...
...Based on the most recent polls, it seems Scozzafava has little chance of winning; her support is trending downward, while Hoffman is gaining ground, putting him in a tight race with Owens with only four days left until voters go to the polls. The newest television ad on Hoffman's campaign website attacks Owens, now perceived as a bigger rival than Scozzafava. And on Thursday, Representative Pete Sessions, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Politico that Hoffman would be welcomed "with open arms" into the GOP caucus, no doubt to the dismay of the party's official candidate...