Almost every high-school girl has a backup prom date. He’s reliable and an old friend, but lacks the flash of the hotshot quarterback, the class president, or the Zac Efron lookalike. Often enough, these quiet Charlie Browns oblige, smiling through the fickleness, appreciated but seldom chosen.
This fall, in a race that would normally be an afterthought in American politics, a backup date has fought back. Doug Hoffman, a soft-spoken conservative Republican in New York’s 23rd congressional district (which covers most of the northern part of the state), wasn’t tapped by party leaders in July to be the nominee for Tuesday’s special election. Instead, local party bosses chose Dede Scozzafava, a popular local assemblywoman, to run for the seat left vacant by GOP congressman John McHugh when he resigned to join the Obama administration as secretary of the Army. A disappointed Hoffman was expected to stand back and cheer Scozzafava as she danced toward Election Day.
But Hoffman thought: I love the GOP. How could they do this? Scozzafava is a liberal; she supports gay marriage, the Obama “stimulus,” and abortion rights. She may call herself a Republican, but she doesn’t know the party like I do. For too long I have just nodded along, he stewed. I’ve let my party use me, only to scorn me later.
That’s usually where the story ends: A Republican-in-name-only wins, and a true conservative is sidelined because he’s not part of the clubby rubber-chicken circuit in towns like Plattsburgh and Watertown. But in upstate New York, in this curious electoral year, something changed.
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“The more I thought about it, the more distressed I became that there was no effective conservative Republican voice in the race,” said Hoffman as he announced that he would seek the Conservative party’s nomination. “The voters in the district deserve more than a just a choice between a liberal Nancy Pelosi Democrat and a big-spending Albany politician who is out of touch with the issues and values that are important to the voters . . . As a philosophical conservative, I will be the only candidate who supports the conservative values that I believe are important to our nation, our state and our families.” It was a respectful sentiment, to be sure, but Hoffman’s chances seemed slim.
Then, suddenly, as in all great prom movies, the shy kid in the back of the class found himself a hot new date. The Conservative party offered to help Hoffman make it to the big dance.
In late July, Hoffman met with Conservative chairman Mike Long in Lake Placid. The two men watched Long’s son Matt compete in an Ironman competition. They must have clicked. In early August, the Conservative party, which usually endorses the GOP candidate, decided to take a chance on Hoffman, just as town-hall meetings on Obamacare were starting to make headlines.
“I’m still a Republican,” Hoffman said at the time. “I’m not changing my values or ideals.” Nor, he added, is his candidacy some “sacrificial lamb” effort. “I’m in this race to win it,” he said.
Things started slowly for the certified public accountant and lifelong resident of the North Country. Many area Republicans were irked by Hoffman’s decision to rock the GOP boat. Just let Scozzafava slide, they said. Hoffman wanted none of that. He and his fellow conservatives in NY-23 had been listening to that tune for years.
