A moderate Republican whose candidacy for an upstate
The candidate, Dede Scozzafava, said she was suspending her campaign in the face of collapsing support and evidence that she was heading for a loss in a three-way race on Tuesday involving Douglas Hoffman, running on the Conservative Party line, and Bill Owens, a Democrat.
Scozzafava had been under siege from conservative leaders because she supported gay rights and abortion rights and was considered too liberal on fiscal issues.
Some prominent Republicans expressed concern that Scozzafava's decision seemed likely to unsettle the party going into next year's midterm elections, raising the prospect of more primaries against Republican candidates that they deem too moderate.
"I think we are going to get into a very difficult environment around the country if suddenly conservative leaders decide they are going to anoint people without regard to local primaries and local choices," said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, who had endorsed Scozzafava.
Scozzafava's withdrawal leaves a clear two-way race between Hoffman and Owens, a
Hoffman, though running as a Conservative, had been endorsed by some Republican luminaries, including Sarah Palin, the party's 2008 vice presidential nominee, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty of
The district, which has been solidly Republican, had been represented by John McHugh, who stepped down after President Obama named him secretary of the Army.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/01/MNOI1ADFLE.DTL&type=politics#ixzz0VcZQrfET
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