{"id":2901,"date":"2009-10-31T12:37:04","date_gmt":"2009-10-31T16:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2901"},"modified":"2009-11-02T17:11:49","modified_gmt":"2009-11-02T22:11:49","slug":"ny-23-scozzafava-quits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/31\/ny-23-scozzafava-quits\/","title":{"rendered":"NY-23: Scozzafava Quits!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dede Scozzafava, the hand-picked choice of the New York state GOP has suspended<\/a> her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District and is releasing all her supporters:<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The state Assemblywoman has not thrown her support to either Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, or Bill Owens, the Democratic candidate.<\/p>\n

“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 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 generations.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Assemblywoman Scozzafava’s announcement comes close on the heels of a new <\/span>Siena Research Institute poll<\/a> (PDF) that shows her badly trailing both Democrat Bill Owens and Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman… In recent weeks the three-way race to\u00a0 replace Republican Rep. John McHugh, who was appointed Secretary of the Army by <\/span><\/span>President Obama in June, has become a closely fought two man race between Hoffman and Owens.
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Ms. Scozzafava was the hand picked choice of 23rd District’s <\/span>11 Republican county chairmen. According to a Wall Street Journal report<\/a> she was chosen this summer when the county chairmen gathered at a pizzeria in Potsdam to pick a nominee. They were reportedly looking for someone with name recognition who could prevail in a shortened campaign. At the time Ms. Scozzafava, a former small-town mayor who has served for a decade in the state legislature, seemed the right choice.<\/p>\n

As it turns out Ms. Scozzafava was the wrong choice… <\/span><\/span>The Republican Party bosses who passed over Doug Hoffman to choose Ms. Scozzafava have some explaining to do.<\/p>\n

H\/T : The Other McCain<\/a> and Hot Air<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related<\/strong><\/p>\n