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Club for Growth goes off script in New York special election
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10/03/09 07:12 AM ET
Much to the national GOP’s chagrin, the Club for Growth is setting a new precedent for itself in the special election in New York.
Through Friday, the Club’s spending on the race was more than both the national GOP and the national Democratic Party, and it might not stop there.
And its $275,000 investment in the race has effectively turned it into one of the highest-profile races in the history of the Club for Growth, which has taken out centrist House Republicans and waged strong challenges to centrist senators like Arlen Specter (Pa.) and Lincoln Chafee (R.I.).
“It’s always possible we’ll spend more money, sure,” Club Executive Director David Keating said.
The Club, which generally helps members by hooking them up with a lengthy and lucrative list of donors, is less able to help candidates in that fashion in this race – what with the quick sprint of a race and the non-election year.
But the Club has made up for it by going big with a direct investment in Hoffman. While the Club has spent fast and big in the race, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has spent $247,000, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has spent $127,000.
With the support of former presidential candidate Fred Thompson and the American Conservative Union, among other conservative groups, Hoffman has become a hot topic in the race for the future of the Republican Party.
Still, Hoffman’s chances are a source of much debate. A Siena College poll on Wednesday showed him a distant third at 16 percent, behind Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (35 percent) and Democratic attorney Bill Owens (28 percent).
Siena pollster Steve Greenberg told a local reporter "it is very hard to see a roadmap that would allow him (Hoffman) to win this race."
Siena’s result contrasted sharply with a Club for Growth poll released last week, before the group endorsed him. The poll showed all three candidates in a virtual tie around 20 percent of the vote.
At the same time, the head-to-head matchup question, which is generally asked before other questions, was preceded by a question asking voters whether they would prefer “a liberal Democrat, a liberal Republican or a Conservative Party candidate who would align himself with Republicans in Congress.” The party identifiers were then used in the head-to-head matchup between the three candidates.
Keating said the Club is confident in its poll results and that he didn’t think the question had an influence on the head-to-head matchup.
“We didn’t do this poll to try to say ‘this guy’s doing great or this person’s doing bad.’ ” Keating said. “We were trying to do it just to gauge what the situation on the ground is.
“We’re confident that we were getting good numbers out of this. If other people aren’t, then fine.”
Whatever the reasons for the Club’s involvement or its prospects, it represents just the latest example of it antagonizing the national GOP.
Republicans have grumbled that the Club weakened Chafee and other Republicans for the general election or installed candidates who were too far right for their districts, like one-term former Rep. Bill Sali (R-Idaho). In several cases the last two cycles, seats where the Club has gotten involved have gone to the Democrats.
The national GOP acknowledges Hoffman and his moneyed supporters make their job harder, but they emphasize Scozzafava is still the favorite.
Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the NRCC, said Hoffman’s political calculus doesn’t add up.
“We’re pleased that the Republican county chairs in New York had the foresight to not even consider Hoffman among the final three candidates, and the Washington-based endorsements and misleading political ads that are meant for his benefit will ultimately backfire on his futile sour-grapes campaign,” Lindsay said.
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