5 Things to Watch in NY-23 Race

Conservative gets a boost, but maybe not a very big one

(NEWSER) - Republican Dede Scozzafava's surprise decision to suspend her congressional race in New York leaves Conservative Doug Hoffman to battle Democrat Dan Owens. Here's what the political blogosphere is saying:

• Nate Silver , FiveThirtyEight: "Gun to my head? Sure, I'd take Hoffman at this point." But it's not that cut and dried: Most conservative Republicans had already defected to Hoffman, so the gain may not be that big.

Surprise decision leaves him alone against Democrat

(NEWSER) - Big political news from upstate New York: Republican Dede Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for Congress ahead of Tuesday's election. She endorsed no one, but the move "is a boost" to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, writes Josh Kraushaar at Politico . Hoffman is a political novice who surged into the national spotlight after gaining the attention of Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and others. More»

Hoffman calls Scozzafava a 'turncoat'

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin-backed conservative upstart Doug Hoffman called Dede Scozzafava a “turncoat” after the New York Republican state assemblywoman endorsed Hoffman’s Democratic opponent, Bill Owens. Scozzafava issued her surprise endorsement a day after pulling out of the upstate congressional race. With prominent conservatives backing Hoffman, an independent, Scozzafava had been running a distant third in the polls. “This afternoon Dede Scozzafava betrayed the GOP,” a spokesman for Hoffman said in a statement. More»

Not enough ballots remain for him to overcome margin

(NEWSER) - It looks like the NY-23 race is over, again. With 3,072 absentee ballots left to be counted, conservative Doug Hoffman can't catch Democrat Bill Owens, who leads by 3,176 votes. State officials haven't called the race and won't until it's formally wrapped up, but the Watertown Daily Times says it's a mathematical certainty now. Owens already has been sworn into office, though Hoffman "unconceded" when the race tightened. More»

Limbaugh: VP should 'reacquaint himself' with Constitution

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden took aim at a variety of GOP and conservative opponents today at a rally for New York congressional candidate Bill Owens. The VP said Conservative candidate Douglas Hoffman was “handpicked” by Rush Limbaugh, adding that Hoffman is in line with conservatives like Sarah Palin who “will not tolerate” dissenting views, the Watertown Daily Times reports. Stand back! More»