Bumped up & Updated Below
10/31/09
No longer just fading… she’s done. Stacy McCain reports on the ground in NY 23:
Just confirmed that Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava has quit the race. Speaking to supporters, Scozzafava broke down in tears.
Apparently she will throw her support behind Doug Hoffman. A new Siena poll showed the race in a dead heat between Bill Owens and Hoffman with Scozzafava a distant third. Check Stacy’s full post out, he has a ton of updates.
This was just a foregone conclusion as endorsements from conservatives rolled in and people in NY 23 realized the true Republican in the race was Scozzafava.
McCain explained why this was a non-starter for Scozzafava:
Friday afternoon, when word got around that NRCC was pulling its resources out of Dede Scozzafava’s campaign, I overheard a guy explaining to a buddy what Team Hoffman’s basic strategy had been from the start: "Kill Dede and we win."
Simple, brutal and true: The 23rd District is overwhelmingly Republican, and the Hoffman people knew that if Scozzafava couldn’t get Republican votes, she couldn’t win. Once it became apparent to Republican voters that Dede was a guaranteed loser, the momentum shift to Hoffman was inevitable.
This is where Newt Gingrich really exposed his cluelessness, parroting misleading talking-points provided by the equally clueless Republican "insiders" who handpicked Scozzafava and wasted hundreds of thousands of RNC/NRCC dollars on her doomed campaign.
I think we’ve just heard Newt Gingrich’s credibility sink with Scozzafava.
Update: Sarah Palin: A Time to Unite
I want to personally thank Republican Dede Scozzafava for acting so selflessly today in the NY District 23 race. Now it’s time to cross the finish line with Doug Hoffman so that he can get to work for District 23 and the rest of America.
With Congress poised to overhaul one-sixth of our economy with so-called health care “reform” (which is really a government takeover of health care) and with plans to enact a cap-and-tax bill just as our economy struggles to recover, Doug Hoffman will be a voice for fiscal responsibility and common sense in Washington.
We need candidates like Doug now more than ever. In these final days of the campaign, it’s vital that Doug continue to receive the enthusiastic support of those who want to bring common sense to Washington. Let’s help make it happen! You can help Doug by visiting his official website today and offering your support: https://www.doughoffmanforcongress.com/donate3.html
– Sarah Palin
Also Mike Huckabee endorses Hoffman, and even Newt Gingrich decides to endorse (which seems like a “backhanded” endorsement after the trashing of Hoffman he did).
And, no Mitt, a non-endorsement of Scozzafava doesn’t speak volumes.
11/01/09 2nd Update: Local paper, the Watertown Daily Times now switches endorsement to Owens because Hoffman is only an ideologue (we call those principles). But this also reveals that Scozzafava is encouraging her supporters to vote for Owens.
In her statement Saturday morning, the assemblywoman explained the reasons behind her decision: "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."
During the day Saturday, she began to quietly and thoughtfully encourage her supporters to vote for Democrat William L. Owens.
This is further proof that Scozzafava had no business being the Republican nominee. And it provided further proof that Sarah Palin is the visionary while Newt Gingrich fulfilled the role of the hack.
HT: Memeorandum
3rd Update: Linked at Memeorandum.