GOP officials: We won't abandon Dede

By ALEX ISENSTADT | 10/25/09 12:29 PM EDT


Congressional candidate Dede Scozzafava, who supports gay marriage, abortion rights and has a close relationship with leading labor officials in her region, has been the target of sustained criticism from conservatives who claim she is too liberal for them to support her candidacy. Photo: Courtesy

The National Republican Congressional Committee remains committed to embattled GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava in the upstate New York House special election, even as many of the party's top names throw their support to Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman.

Two party officials tell POLITICO that the NRCC will continue to air TV ads propping up Scozzafava in the days leading up to the Nov. 3 contest and plans to keep up a near relentless barrage of press releases slamming Hoffman.

Scozzafava, a state assemblywoman who supports gay marriage, abortion rights and has a close relationship with leading labor officials in her region, has been the target of sustained criticism from conservatives who claim she is too liberal for them to support her candidacy.

Hoffman, an accounting executive, is attracting an ever-growing group of conservative backers, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) have also endorsed the third-party candidate.

Public and private polls have shown Hoffman gaining on Scozzafava but both trail the Democratic nominee, attorney Bill Owens.

For the NRCC, the decision to remain steadfast in support of the GOP nominee is premised on the belief that, despite Hoffman’s apparent momentum in the contest, Scozzafava remains the party’s best hope of holding the seat, which has been vacated by Republican Rep. John McHugh.

The NRCC plans to spend between $200,000 and $300,000 on TV ads in the final week-and-a-half of the campaign. The ads will focus on Owens and Scozzafava and will not mention Hoffman.

One GOP official, granted anonymity in order to discuss party strategy candidly, said that while a Republican victory remained far from certain, Scozzafava’s following in the North Country-based district made her a better bet to win the remaining batch of undecided voters than Hoffman, who despite his personal ties to the district is nevertheless a resident of Lake Placid in New York’s neighboring 20th District and cannot vote in the race.

“It’s all a geographic play,â€