Doug Hoffman

Last updated
Doug Hoffman
Born1953 (age 70–71)
Saranac Lake, New York
Alma mater SUNY, Plattsburgh (B.S.)
University of Connecticut (M.B.A.)
Occupation(s) C.P.A., tax and financial planning
Political party Conservative Party of New York

Douglas L. Hoffman (born 1953) is an American businessman, accountant and former congressional candidate. He was the Conservative Party candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2009 special election for New York's 23rd congressional district. On November 3, 2009, he was narrowly defeated by Democratic candidate Bill Owens. Hoffman ran for the same seat in Congress in 2010, but lost the Republican primary and withdrew his candidacy.

Contents

Hoffman's 2009 campaign received extensive support from the Tea Party movement [1] and gained national attention because of his success in drawing grassroots support away from Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava, who dropped out of the race before Election Day.

Early life and business career

Born in Connecticut, Hoffman is the second of four children of Rita Anderson and Eugene J. Hoffman. Hoffman's parents divorced during his early life, leaving the family in poverty. He grew up in Saranac Lake, New York and graduated from Saranac Lake High School. In 1973, he received a bachelor's degree in accounting from SUNY Plattsburgh. Hoffman married Carol Torrance in 1973 and moved to Hartford, Connecticut; the Hoffmans have three children: Ashleah, Douglas, and Taylor. [2] During the Vietnam War, Hoffman served in the New York National Guard (1970–73) and was a staff sergeant in the United States Army Reserve (1973–76). [2] [3] Following his college graduation, Hoffman earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Connecticut in 1976 and was accredited as a certified public accountant (CPA). In 1977, Hoffman and his family moved back to the North Country. [2]

Hoffman served as controller for the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Hoffman stated that the 1980 Olympics created jobs and infrastructure that were still driving the area's economy 30 years later. [4]

At the time of his 2009 congressional campaign, Hoffman served as managing partner at Dragon Benware Crowley & Co. In addition, he helped to lead Hoffman Family Enterprises, "a group of 13 companies ranging from investment and real estate firms to hospitality and tourism ventures". [2] Hoffman and his wife resided in Lake Placid. [5] [6] [7]

Political campaigns

2009 congressional campaign

After Republican Rep. John McHugh resigned from Congress to serve as Secretary of the Army, the Republican Party chose New York State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava as its candidate in the ensuing special election to fill the vacated seat. Hoffman had also sought the Republican nod, and after Scozzafava was chosen, he congratulated her and initially offered his help. [8] On August 7, 2009, the Conservative Party of New York opted to nominate Hoffman for Congress after three other potential candidates said they would support him, [9] despite the fact that Hoffman did not live in the district. [10] The Conservative Party declined to support Scozzafava, who was described by Party Chairman Michael R. Long as a "nice lady who is too liberal". [9] [11] The Democratic Party chose Bill Owens as its candidate. [12]

The race attracted attention across the country because of Hoffman's Tea Party affiliation [13] and because of the large amount of support Hoffman received from the national conservative base [14] despite Hoffman's status as a third-party candidate. Hoffman described himself as a "Reagan conservative," [15] expressing opposition to same-sex marriage, [16] Obamacare, budget deficits, and abortion and support for the war on terror. [15] During the campaign, Hoffman was interviewed by Glenn Beck [17] and Sean Hannity. [18] Many notable Republicans, including former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, endorsed Hoffman because they deemed Scozzafava insufficiently conservative and ideologically indistinguishable from the Democrat. [19] [20] To illustrate this point, the Hoffman campaign ran television advertisements depicting Scozzafava and Owens as "two peas in a liberal pod." [21] In October, The Atlantic described Hoffman as "the next (unlikely) conservative superstar". Hoffman received support from the Club for Growth, RedState, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, and columnist Michelle Malkin. [22]

After an October 31 poll showed Scozzafava trailing both Hoffman and Owens by 15% and 16% respectively, with her poll numbers collapsing, Scozzafava suspended her campaign on October 31 and endorsed Owens. [23] [24]

On Election Day, Owens prevailed over Hoffman. [25] While Hoffman initially conceded the race, an initial re-canvass resulted in a Hoffman gain of approximately 2,000 votes. [26] Hoffman withdrew his concession on November 17, 2009 [27] and later accused the Democratic Party and others of ballot tampering. Jerry O. Eaton, Jefferson County Republican elections commissioner, called Hoffman's assertion "absolutely false". [28] With the tallying of absentee-ballots near completion, on November 20, 2009, Owens' lead over Hoffman surpassed the total number of absentee ballots left, making it mathematically impossible for Hoffman to win. [29] On November 24, Hoffman ended his campaign. [30] The final election results showed that Owens prevailed by a margin of 48.3% to 46%. [31]

The election was alternately described as "a referendum on President Barack Obama" and "a fight over the identity of the Republican Party." [32] [33] The race was also noteworthy due to the Tea Party movement influence on its outcome, [34] [35] and for its impact on same-sex marriage legislation in New York. [36] [37] [38] One commentator stated that Hoffman's third-party candidacy was "striking for how much it has galvanized the Republican Party's base." [39] According to Marilyn Musgrave of Susan B. Anthony List, "Republican party leaders in Washington should take the message of the campaign and the election seriously, that the Party base should not be taken for granted." [40]

2010 congressional campaign

Hoffman again ran for the House of Representatives in 2010, but was defeated in the Republican primary for New York's 23rd congressional district by Matt Doheny, a businessman and lawyer. [41] On September 23, 2010, Hoffman announced that he would continue his campaign for the congressional seat as the Conservative Party candidate. [42] However, on October 5, 2010, Hoffman announced that he was dropping out of the race altogether, [43] although his name remained on the ballot. [44] Bill Owens (D) won re-election by less than 4,000 votes, while Hoffman received 9,592 votes on the Conservative Party line. [45] [46] Hoffman has been referred to as a "spoiler" in the 2010 race. [47]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Club for Growth</span> American political advocacy group

The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative Party of New York State</span> Conservative third party in the United States

The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and served for one term. Since 2010, the party has held "Row C" on New York ballots—the third-place ballot position, directly below the Democratic and Republican parties—because it received the third-highest number of votes of any political party in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 New York gubernatorial elections. The party is known for its strategy of attempting to influence the Republican Party in a more conservative direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York's 23rd congressional district</span> U.S. House district for New York

New York's 23rd congressional district is located in Upstate New York, and covers part of Buffalo's Northtowns, all of the Southtowns, and much of the Southern Tier. The district includes two of the eleven Finger Lakes: Keuka Lake and Seneca Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dede Scozzafava</span> American politician

Dierdre Kathryn "Dede" Scozzafava is an American politician in New York. She represented District 122 in the New York State Assembly from 1999 to 2010. Scozzafava held office as a member of the Republican Party, but later became a member of the Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 New York gubernatorial election</span> Election

The 2010 New York gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as lieutenant governor in 2006 as the running mate of Eliot Spitzer, initially ran for a full term but dropped out of the race. Democratic New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo defeated Republican Carl Paladino to become the next governor of New York.

Janet L. Duprey is a former Republican member of the New York State Assembly, representing Assembly District 115, which includes all of Clinton and Franklin Counties, as well as part of St. Lawrence County. She is originally from Plattsburgh.

Teresa R. Sayward was a member of the New York State Assembly for Willsboro, first elected in 2002. She is a Republican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 New York's 20th congressional district special election</span>

On March 31, 2009, New York held a special election to fill a vacancy in its 20th congressional district. In January, the district's representative, Kirsten Gillibrand, was appointed US senator from New York, replacing Hillary Clinton, who had been appointed Secretary of State in the Obama administration. The two major-party candidates were Scott Murphy, a Democrat and private businessman, and Jim Tedisco, a Republican and the minority leader of the New York State Assembly. A Libertarian candidate, Eric Sundwall, was initially included in the race, but later removed from the ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 New York state elections</span>

The 2010 New York state elections took place on November 2, 2010. Due to the special election for US Senate, all of New York's six statewide offices were up for popular election on the same date. At the same time, all 29 members from New York of the U.S. House of Representatives, all 212 members of the New York State legislature, and many other local officials were elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 United States House of Representatives elections in New York</span> House elections in New York

The 2010 congressional elections in New York were held on November 2, 2010 to determine representation from the state of New York in the United States House of Representatives. New York had 29 seats in the House. Representatives are elected to two-year terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 New York elections</span>

New York held various elections in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia</span> 2010 House elections in Virginia

The 2010 congressional elections in Virginia were held November 2, 2010, to determine who will represent the state of Virginia in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 112th Congress from January 2011 until January 2013.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is an American non-profit political organization established to work against the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. It was formed in 2007 specifically to pass California Proposition 8, a state prohibition of same-sex marriage. The group has opposed civil union legislation and gay adoption, and has fought against allowing transgender individuals to use bathrooms that accord with their gender identity. Brian S. Brown has served as the group's president since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 New York's 23rd congressional district special election</span> Election following the resignation of John M. McHugh

The 2009 special election for New York's 23rd congressional district was held on November 3, 2009, to select the successor to Republican John M. McHugh. McHugh was nominated to become United States Secretary of the Army on June 2, 2009, and resigned as representative of New York's 23rd congressional district on September 21, 2009, after being confirmed by the Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Owens (New York politician)</span> American politician (born 1949)

William Lewis Owens is an American attorney and former U.S. Representative from New York, a post he held from 2009 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party and currently serves on the advisory board of the Canadian American Business Council. The district he represented, the state's largest and most rural, includes most of the North Country, as well as the northern suburbs of Syracuse.

There were five special elections to the United States House of Representatives in 2009 during the 111th United States Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New York</span> Elections

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts, a loss of two seats following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election, and a U.S. Senate election. The two existing districts that were eliminated were District 9, held by Republican Rep. Bob Turner, and District 22, held by retiring Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 New York state elections</span> Election in the United States

The 2012 New York state elections took place on November 6, 2012. These elections included the 2012 presidential election, an election to one U.S. Senate seat, and elections to all 27 New York congressional seats, all 63 seats in the New York State Senate, and all 150 seats in the New York State Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 New York gubernatorial election</span> Election for Governor of New York

The 2014 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo sought re-election to a second term in office, though incumbent Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy did not seek re-election. Cuomo and his running mate, former U.S. Representative Kathy Hochul, won contested primaries, while Republican Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Executive, and his running mate were unopposed for their party's nomination. Astorino and Moss were also cross-nominated by the Conservative Party and the Stop Common Core Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New York</span> Elections

The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state of New York, one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections, including the governor, attorney general, and comptroller of New York.

References

  1. ↑ Keck, Kristi (February 3, 2010). "Fractures emerge as Tea Party convenes". CNN. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Hoffman Recalls Growing Up Poor". Watertown Daily Times.
  3. ↑ Brown, Nathan (2009-10-16). "Hoffman fears a bankrupt nation". Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  4. ↑ Seymour, Jude (2009-09-06). "Hoffman held purse strings for 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid". Watertown Daily Times. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  5. ↑ Weiner, Mark (12 October 2009). "Meet the 23rd Congressional District candidates: Doug Hoffman". syracuse.com.
  6. ↑ Peters, Jeremy W. (3 November 2009). "House Race in New Yorks's 23rd District Goes to the Democrat". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ "HOFFMAN THROWS IN TOWEL". Watertown Daily Times.
  8. ↑ "Hoffman was for Scozzafava before he was against her". Watertown Daily Times.
  9. 1 2 Conzola, E.J. (August 7, 2009). "Conservative Party will run Hoffman for Congress". Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  10. ↑ Ambinder, Marc (November 4, 2009). "What Doug Hoffman's Loss Means to Conservatives". CBS News.
  11. ↑ "New York Trading Down". Human Events. 2009-08-04. Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  12. ↑ "Meet Bill Owens, a DCCC-Approved Non-Democrat for the House". The New York Observer . 11 August 2009.
  13. ↑ Raice, Shayndi (2010-06-18). "Battle for GOP Ballot Slots". The Wall Street Journal.
  14. ↑ Weiner, Mark (21 February 2010). "Conservative chorus at national conference: Aren't you Doug Hoffman?". syracuse.com.
  15. 1 2 Kenyon, Jim (20 October 2009). "Hoffman runs for Congress as a Reagan conservative". WSTM.
  16. ↑ syracuse.com (12 October 2009). "Meet the 23rd Congressional District candidates: Doug Hoffman". syracuse.com.
  17. ↑ "Why Doug Hoffman is Running for Office". Fox News. 2009-10-27.
  18. ↑ "Interview with House Candidate Doug Hoffman - RealClearPolitics". www.realclearpolitics.com.
  19. ↑ Palin: "there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race." "Palin: Ready to shake things up in New York". Reuters. 2009-10-22. Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  20. ↑ Hook, Janet (2009-11-03). "Conservatives emboldened by moves in New York". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  21. ↑ Trussell, Donna. "Down the Stretch: Three-Way Race Heats Up in New York Special Election". Politicsdaily.com. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  22. ↑ Ambinder, Marc (21 October 2009). "Doug Hoffmann: The Next (Unlikely) Conservative Superstar". The Atlantic.
  23. ↑ Seymour, Jude (October 31, 2009). "Scozzafava suspends campaign". Watertown Daily Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
  24. ↑ Madore, James T. (2009-10-31). "Under pressure, GOP assemblywoman suspends campaign". Newsday . Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  25. ↑ "Special election results certified". Watertown Daily Times. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  26. ↑ Seymour, Jude (November 13, 2009). "Vote: Hoffman closes in on Owens". Watertown Daily Times. Watertown, NY. Archived from the original on November 16, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2009. Sean M. Hennessey, Jefferson County Democratic elections commissioner, said poll inspectors in four districts reported Mr. Hoffman had received zero votes after inadvertently reading the wrong line of the poll system's printout.
  27. ↑ Rudin, Ken (November 16, 2009). "Hoffman 'Unconcedes' In New York 23; Absentee Count Begins Today : It's All Politics". NPR. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  28. ↑ Seymour, Jude (November 19, 2009). "Hoffman: ACORN, unions, Dems tampered with NY-23 election". Watertown Daily Times. Watertown, NY. Archived from the original on November 21, 2009. Retrieved November 19, 2009. Mr. Hoffman trails Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, by 2,832 votes after 42.6 percent of absentee ballots districtwide were reported Wednesday.
  29. ↑ Jude Seymour (November 20, 2009). "Hoffman lacks votes to catch Owens". Watertown Daily Times. Watertown, NY. Archived from the original on November 23, 2009. Retrieved November 20, 2009. As Mr. Owens' victory became certain, the Gouverneur Times alleged Thursday that a computer virus had "tainted" results and "cast doubt on the accuracy of the counts retrieved from any of the machines."
  30. ↑ Kiely, Eugene (November 24, 2009). "Doug Hoffman: 'Full speed ahead to 2010'". USA Today.
  31. ↑ "Special election results certified". Watertown Daily Times. December 16, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  32. ↑ Hoffman concedes 23rd Congressional race to Owens Archived November 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine , Associated Press, November 4, 2009
  33. ↑ Peters, Jeremy W. (November 4, 2009). "Conservative Loses Upstate House Race in Blow to Right". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  34. ↑ "Green grass-roots at University of Nebraska". CNN. May 7, 2004. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  35. ↑ Jonsson, Patrik (October 31, 2009). "Tea Party Express jubilant as Scozzafava exits in NY-23". CSMonitor.com. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Gay marriage not likely to come to Senate again soon : Home: The Buffalo News". Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  37. ↑ Vick, Karl (December 3, 2009). "N.Y. State Senate votes down gay marriage bill by wide margin". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  38. ↑ Hakim, Danny (November 6, 2009). "Marriage for Gays on Agenda in New York". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  39. ↑ Republicans work to defeat one of their own – National – NewsObserver.com Archived October 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  40. ↑ Tomasic, John (4 November 2009). "Musgrave to GOP: 'Don't just assume we're yours'". The Colorado Independent.
  41. ↑ "Hoffman Loses To Doheny In Primary". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  42. ↑ "Hoffman Staying In NY-23 On Row D". Archived from the original on September 27, 2010.
  43. ↑ "Hoffman denies acting as 'spoiler'". Watertown Daily Times.
  44. ↑ "News, Sports, Jobs - Adirondack Daily Enterprise".
  45. ↑ "House Results Map". The New York Times.
  46. ↑ Hoffman out of Congress race Archived October 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , Nathan Brown, Adirondack Daily Enterprise, October 5, 2010
  47. ↑ "Owens retains his 23rd Congressional seat by a comfortable margin; Hoffman spoiler for GOP - NorthCountryNow". northcountrynow.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.