Before GOP drop-out, Third Party candidate nearly had a majority of votes…

Before GOP drop-out, Third Party candidate Doug Hoffman nearly had a majority of votes in the New York 23rd Congressional District special election.

Tom Jensen at Public Policy Polling say they showed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman crushing the competition with a 45-26-17 lead over Democrat Bill Owens and Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava.

Now that Assemblywoman Scozzafava is out of the race Jensen writes on Public Policy Polling’s blog, "I expect Hoffman will win easily now, but if our early numbers were any indication what Scozzafava did doesn't make much difference- he was going to win easily with or without her in the race."

Assemblywoman Scozzafava suspended her campaign late Saturday morning after new polling data showed she was getting crushed in the race and had very little hope of winning the election. We are guessing the Assemblywoman saw numbers similar to what Public Policy Polling found and realized she had to drop-out to have any way to save face and possibly run for office again in the future.

SOURCE:

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2009/10/ny-23-polling-odyssey.html

Tens of thousand of people pledging to vote for Daggett on website… Is it true?

Tens of thousand of people are pledging to vote for independent New Jersey Gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett on DaggettPledge.com. The website says more than 20,000 people have signed-up to pledge to cast a vote.

The website asks for voters names, town, e-mail address along with some other optional information. The Thirds has no doubt that team Daggett will receive a serious number of votes on election day after running a good campaign and getting a number of newspaper endorsments, but we question if the 20,000+ is a real number.

Alexander Higgins of Brick, New Jersey registered the site on October 29th and two days later has 20,000+ pledges. More than 400 pledges per hour seems kind of high for a brand new website. Is this a trick or a treat for the Daggett campaign on Halloween day? We’re not sure.

If we are wrong and a non-campaign website for a candidate can get 20,000+ people to fill out a form in just a matter of hours Corzine, Cristie, the Democrats and Republicans will have a very scary Tuesday night. No matter what, we do wish Chris Daggett and all of New Jersey the best of luck on election day.

SOURCE:

http://daggettpledge.com/

Third Party candidate forces Republican out of race…

Third Party candidate forces the Republican out of the race for New York's special election in the 23rd Congressional District. Liberal-leaning Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava is suspending her campaign for Congress. She was forced out of the race as Republicans and conservatives bolted to support Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. The last straw on the “political-camels” back may have been former New York Governor George Pataki backing Doug Hoffman.

Scozzafava released a statement on her website saying that she has no shot at winning the election, but did not ever mention Doug Hoffman or for the matter the Democratic candidate Bill Owens. Her statement said, “…I care deeply and passionately about (the District’s) people and our way of life. Whether as a candidate for Congress, a State Assemblywoman or a small town Mayor… and today I again seek to act for the good of our community.”

She then explained, “I’ve been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record… It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so.”

The last paragraph was clear, “On Election Day my name will appear on the ballot, but victory is unlikely. To those who support me – and to those who choose not to – I offer my sincerest thanks.”

This showed the success of the Tea Party movement, they ran the Republican Party hand-picked candidate out of the race. This also shows Assemblywoman Scozzafava, while a damaged politician, is a smart politician. She had no hope of winning this race. If Assemblywoman Scozzafava would have stubbornly stayed in and caused the Democrat Bill Owens to win, she would have likely been done in Republican Party politics. She still may be done, but the Assemblywoman still has some hope and favors to cash-in with party bosses. Those same part bosses that have a dozen eggs on their faces for selecting Assemblywoman Scozzafava to run in the first place.

While Doug Hoffman is not a true third party candidate, he is a Republican running on the Conservative Party ticket, this shows that third party candidates can have a huge effect on a race.

SOURCE:

http://dedeforcongress.com/news/read.aspx?id=73

Third Party and Major Party candidates form Minnesota Governor to face-off in forum…

Third Party and major party candidates for Minnesota Governor are going to face-off in a forum. Gustavus Adolphus College announced the school will host a forum with five DFL (Minnesota’s version of Democrats) candidates, one Republican candidate, plus with Peter Roess of the Green Party of Minnesota and Chris Wright of Grassroots Party of Minnesota.

A news release explains the in the forum, “Participants will be given a chance to make an opening statement about their vision for the state and will then field questions from students and community members in the audience. Issues surrounding higher education in the state of Minnesota will specifically be addressed.”

SOURCE:

http://news.blog.gustavus.edu/2009/10/27/gustavus-to-host-gubernatorial-candidates-forum/