Poll: Hoffman Takes The Lead In New York House Race

Yesterday I posted about the high profile Republican endorsements Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman has been getting in the New York District 23 House race and how important it is for high-profile Republicans to be able to go beyond their party to endorse candidates based on principle.
Critics of that move, on both the right and left, have suggested that it won’t be good for the GOP. Their contention is that Republicans need candidates closer to the center/left to win. One poll in that House race, however, shows that they may be wrong as it has Hoffman leading over both the Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava and Democrat candidate Bill Owens.

The poll of 300 likely voters, conducted October 24-25, 2009, shows Conservative Doug Hoffman at 31.3%, Democrat Bill Owens at 27.0%, Republican Dede Scozzafava at 19.7%, and 22% undecided. The poll’s margin of error is +/- 5.66%. No information was provided about any of the candidates prior to the ballot question.
This is the third poll done for the Club for Growth in the NY-23 special election, and Doug Hoffman is the only candidate to show an increase in his support levels in each successive poll. The momentum in the race is clearly with Hoffman.

The election happens next week, and with that many voters undecided it’s anyone’s race really. But Hoffman making this strong of a showing means that even if he doesn’t win it’s still a victory. Hoffman has pretty much guaranteed that Scozzafava won’t win, and the message that will send Republicans is that they need to nominate conservatives or else they may as well count on a liberal win.
What’s happening in New York 23 needs to happen all over the country. And not just for open seats. Liberal Republican incumbents need to be challenged in the primaries, and if they can’t be defeated there then challenged by third party/independent candidates.