Doug Hoffman wins the 2009 NY-23 Special Election

In 2009, New York had a special election for Republican John Hugh who had been nominated to be Secretary of the Army by President Obama.

The Republicans nominated a moderate candidate named Dierdre Scozzafava to run against Democrat Bill Owens. However, Scozzafava was far too moderate for the district and New York Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman ended up as the main alternative to Democrat Bill Owens (Scozzafava ultimately withdrew from the race). The end result was 48.3-46-5.7 D-C-R. The race gained a lot of attention for being an early sign of the Tea Party's strength.

What if Hoffman had won the race in 2009? What would this mean for the Tea Party, the GOP in New York, and the prospect of independent conservative candidates elsewhere?

New York is a state with electoral fusion. I imagine in 2010 he'd run as a candidate cross-endorsed by the Conservatives and Republicans.
 
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