In the 23rd Congressional District of New York, the Republican Party is in trouble. This district in upstate New York usually goes red, and some areas have been run by conservatives since the 1800s. On Nov. 3, a special Congressional election will be held to determine Republican John McHugh's successor (McHugh resigned from office to become United States Secretary of the Army). Instead of the typical election with two candidates neck and neck to win the seat, this election features a third, independent candidate nominated by the Conservative Party of New York - a party independent of the Republican Party, who usually simply endorses the Republican candidate - who is also very much in the race. This special election is demonstrative of a growing rift in the Republican Party, not only in upstate New York, but throughout the entire nation, that could prove harmful to its success.
The Republican Party fielded Dierdre Scozzafava to run against Democratic nominee Bill Owens. Scozzafava is a moderate and supports a number of Democratic positions on issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion, and taxes. Needless to say, the Conservative Party of New York believes she's not, well, conservative enough, and so its members fielded their own candidate for the position, Doug Hoffman. Hoffman, unlike Scozzafava, is a conservative through and through. In an Oct. 21 interview on the Glenn Beck radio show, he referred to himself as a "real, common sense, conservative Reagan Republican." A poll conducted by Siena College released on Oct. 15 indicates that Owens is in the lead with 33 percent of the vote, followed by Scozzafava with 29 percent, and Hoffman with 23 percent.
Just imagine how quickly the Democratic candidate could be defeated if there weren't two different conservative factions running against each other! The numbers clearly indicate Hoffman consistently gaining ground in the polls and Scozzafava losing it. The fact that two Republicans are running against each other is severely decreasing the chances of either candidate winning and could allow the Democratic nominee to carry the election with less than 50 percent of the vote
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