Michael Steele Backs Hoffman: Two Republicans Are in the Race

In an interview with Politico, Michael Steele caved to the those who were backing the Conservative Candidate Hoffman. He didn't chastise other Republicans like Palin, Armey, Pawlenty, etc for not endorsing their party's candidate:

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Friday that a victory by Doug Hoffman, the third-party candidate in the Nov. 3 New York special election, is a win for the GOP.

The actual Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, trails Hoffman, the Conservative Party nominee, and Democrat Bill Owens by double-digits according to a recent poll. But Steele argued during an interview with POLITICO that the GOP doesn’t need to worry about Scozzafava’s lagging ratings because Hoffman is essentially a Republican.

Unlike Newt Gingrich, Steele doesn't feel that going for Hoffman will destroy the party. In fact, he said that he will embrace the third party candidate:

“I don’t split the party into conservative or not,” he said. “I’m looking as the national chairman to walk out of there one way or the other with a win.”

“You’ve got two Republicans running in that race. My upside is that one of them will likely win,” Steele said. “We want to be supporting the one that wins.”

Asked if he would support Hoffman in 2010 if the Conservative Party candidate won the special election and sought re-election, Steele responded: “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Is he a Republican?” Steele asked. “He’s the Conservative Party nominee, but he ran initially as a Republican.”

This is a change from what has been said, so far, not from Steele himself but other state party leaders who nominated the more liberal Dede Scozzafava who were furious with Republicans from outside their state throwing their candidate under the bus.

Apparently, they've seen the writing on the wall, and the decision has been made by New York's 23rd district. The people want a more conservative Republican candidate not a RINO running for office.

New York #20 Heartbreak: Murphy Wins House Seat As Tedisco Concedes Race

There is heartbreaking news from the 20th district of New York:

Democrat Scott Murphy is the new representative of a Capital Region congressional district.

On Friday afternoon, Republican opponent James Tedisco conceded the race. Murphy has at least a 401-vote edge over Tedisco, according to the most recent state tallies.

The two competed in the 20th congressional district (of New York). The sprawling district covers part or all of 10 counties—including six in the Capital Region.

Republican Tedisco had a very good showing in this New York district. The district is slightly more conservative than most in the very liberal state of New York, but it has been leaning Democratic for the past few years. So, this election results weren't altogether surprising, but it was disappointing.

It was the first real test for Obama's policies and administration in the voting booth. Obama and the Democrats passed, but not by much. Murphy should've had a easier time winning considering Obama's still high, but slowly dropping approval ratings. He should've coasted into the House on the president's coattails. The closeness of this race isn't a good sign for the Democrats.

Even though it was a loss, I can see some hope for the GOP to make a comeback in a year to seriously challenge the Democrats in 2010.