Newt Gingrich endorses Dede Scozzafava in NY-23 House race
| In a major coup for her campaign, Republican Dede Scozzafava today will pick up the endorsement of Newt Gingrich, one of the nation’s leading conservative figures and the architect of the “Republican Revolution” in the mid-1990s.
“The special election for the 23rd Congressional District is an important test leading up to the mid-term 2010 elections,” Gingrich said in a statement to supporters. “Our best chance to put responsible and principled leaders in Washington starts here, with Dede Scozzafava.” The endorsement is important for Scozzafava, a social moderate, as she attempts to hold onto a conservative base eroded by Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate in the thee-way 23rd District race. A Siena Research Institute poll released Thursday found Hoffman, who claims he is the “real Republican” in the race, gaining ground with the support of 23 percent of voters in the 11-county district. Scozzafava was favored by 29 percent and Democrat Bill Owens by 33 percent of likely voters in the poll conducted Sunday through Tuesday. Scozzafava led the pack by 4 percentage points only two weeks ago. Hoffman has mounted a late surge in the special election with endorsements by prominent conservatives that include former Republican Sen. Fred Thompson; Campaign for Working Families founder Gary Bauer; and the conservative Club for Growth in Washington, D.C. Scozzafava’s candidacy is also reported to have triggered a deep divide among House Republicans, with some of the most conservative members refusing to support her campaign. But Gingrich, who served as Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999, wants to unite the party. He sees Scozzafava and the Upstate special election – the only House race in the nation this fall — as the best hope for Republicans to start a comeback and regain control of Congress. Gingrich is apparently willing to overlook Scozzafava’s support for same-sex marriage and abortion rights. “The Republican Revolution in 1994 started very much like what we see today,” Gingrich said in his statement. “Like then, our country is reeling from misguided liberal policies, high taxes and out-of-control spending. This special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District could be the first election of the new Republican Revolution, but we need the momentum to get it started.” Gingrich noted that Scozzafava agrees with him on many of the key issues of the day, including her opposition to a cap-and-trade bill to limit pollution associated with climate change. Scozzafava is seeking to fill the seat vacated by Army Secretary John McHugh, who was among only eight Republicans in the House of Representatives to support the bill, which narrowly passed earlier this year. McHugh said he voted for the bill because Democratic leaders agreed to include provisions to set new limits on the pollution that causes acid rain, which has damaged lakes and forests across the Adirondacks — a large part of the sprawling 11-county district. |