An update and a question about New York's 23rd congressional district

By Richard K. Barry 

I wrote a few day ago about where things stand in New York's 23rd congressional district. This is where a split on the right helped a Democrat take the seat in a 2009 special election and hold it in the 2010 general.

Specifically, in 2010, running as a Conservative Party candidate, Doug Hoffman appears to have allowed a split that gave the race to Democrat Bill Owens. Despite the fact that Hoffman dropped out late, he still got 6%, which was enough to lose the seat for the GOP.

On the basis of this, I suggested that Hoffman might now disappear into political oblivion. A helpful reader indicated that I could be wrong about that, suggesting that Hoffman is raising money and continues to maintain some degree of election readiness.

What I see is that Hoffman is continuing to solicit funds to pay down his campaign debt, and that he has a live website with all the bells and whistles calling for volunteers and other kinds of help, which could be for a renewed effort in 2012. I do note very little post-2010 news on the site, but the text of the fundraising letter says, and I quote, "we need our influence to prevail in 2012," whatever that means.

We could assume that this is to again seek the Republican nomination for NY-23, which he lost in 2010 before running as a third party candidate. That could be true.

This does beg the question, though, as to whether or not Mr. Hoffman would run on the Conservative Party line should he again fail to get the GOP nod.

It would be interesting for some enterprising reporter from a local media outlet, should he or she run into Mr. Hoffman on the street, to ask not only if he is running for the GOP nomination but if another third party run is possible should he not get that nomination. (The standard answer for a question like this is, "I am not going to deal in hypotheticals." I've always loved that one.)

So, I know it's unlikely that a straightforward answer would be forthcoming, but sometimes a non-answer can say a lot.

On a personal note, it's been a long time since I lived in the NY-23rd, having gone to school at Oswego State, even working for a time at WRVO radio in the news department, so I can't claim to have my ear to the ground. I'd be happy to hear from anyone who might be in that position. Has Hoffman already been more explicit than this?

(Cross-posted to Lippmann's Ghost.)