The Right Man by Robert Costa on National Review Online

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.

“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.

Scozzafava, who thought she could coast to Congress on her popularity, couldn’t believe that Hoffman had the audacity to challenge her. The National Republican Congressional Committee was also none too pleased. They aired a cringe-worthy web video against Hoffman, taking him to task for his alleged positions on civil unions and government bailouts, and even his residency. The ad’s nasty tone made clear that Hoffman had Scozzafava and the NRCC worried.

In September the Club for Growth began to poll in the district and found that Hoffman was not only a sharp conservative, but also a potential winner. Scozzafava, supposedly the untouchable Albany pol, was now vulnerable. Voters started to scratch their heads about whether it was right for a Republican nominee for Congress to support card-check and Democratic governor David Paterson’s budget.

Long pleaded with national Republican leaders to push aside Scozzafava and give the GOP nomination to Hoffman. As he told The Weekly Standard, “she symbolizes the tax-and-spend-and-earmark philosophy that has so decimated the Republican party in Congress. On the other hand, if Owens wins, it will be a huge victory for the discredited Obama White House.” Indeed.

The NRCC didn’t listen. Other national conservative leaders did. Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, and many other radio and television hosts covered the race on their programs. Former senator Fred Thompson weighed in as one of Hoffman’s first major endorsements. Gary Bauer and Steve Forbes joined him.

Some Republicans were still hesitant. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R., N.C.), the head of the House Conservatives Fund, told me that he wanted to stay out of 2009 races and focus on 2010. Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty took what seemed like an eternity to make up his mind before endorsing Hoffman. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney decided to stay out of the race, too. Even former House speaker Newt Gingrich told me that Hoffman’s candidacy was destructive toward GOP goals. “If you seek to be a perfect minority, you’ll remain a minority,” said Gingrich. “That’s not how Reagan built his revolution or how we won back the House in 1994.”

Hoffman didn’t care much for Gingrich’s assessment. By October, as his campaign grew in national stature, Hoffman told me that this race was not about him, but about ideas — a fact, he said, that the NRCC and Scozzafava seemed to forget in all the jostling.

“If I can do this, then a lot of other people can step up and do this,” said Hoffman. “It’s caused a lot of anxiety and been a lot of hard work. Yet if you really believe in it, that’s what motivates, that’s what keeps you going. As I progress in this candidacy, more and more people are coming out to help. That’s what keeps me going. I really believe that [running as a Conservative party candidate] is what’s right for my district and our country. From that point of view, a win here is doable, and I want to win, for all of us conservatives.”

Tomorrow Hoffman may do just that. On Saturday Scozzafava decided to “suspend” her campaign, after a Siena Research poll showed her chances to be what Hoffman’s once were — nil. Then on Sunday she tossed her support over to the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens — just the kind of move one would expect from a high-strung prom queen bitter about being upstaged.

Left standing above the fray is Hoffman, a strong candidate who is comfortable with his conservative values and articulate in expressing them. Hordes of Republicans have come to the Hoffman party late, blushing about their tardiness but keen to show their newfound love for the GOP’s onetime ugly duckling. One GOP leader who is now enthusiastic about Hoffman after supporting Scozzafava for months is House minority leader John Boehner. On Sunday, speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Boehner tried to explain the NY-23 kerfuffle. “I’m a big believer in Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment: Never talk ill about another Republican,” Boehner said, unconvincingly.

Ah, yes, Ronald Reagan — the leader Doug Hoffman says is his inspiration and hero. Citing Reagan’s dictum may be an easy out for Republicans embarrassed by their handling of the Hoffman-Scozzafava race, but it’s no excuse. Reagan was a conservative who valued other conservatives, urging them to run, speak up, and be heard.

Whether or not Hoffman wins on Tuesday, his experience will show thousands of conservatives across America that they no longer have to be backup dates in the GOP. They may often be silent, but conservative voters have brought the party to victory year after year. Boehner and company should keep that mind.

As Reagan said, “Dance with the one that brung you.”

— Robert Costa is the William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow at the National Review Institute.