Palin Endorses in New York Race, While Pawlenty Holds Back – Followup Below

October 23rd, 2009  From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty, two Republicans widely viewed as possible 2012 White House hopefuls, weighed in Thursday night on the closely-watched special election in New York’s 23rd congressional district. They chose very different approaches – but neither endorsed the GOP candidate.

Calling it a matter of principle, Palin – the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate – bucked her party and enthusiastically endorsed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over Republican Dede Scozzafava. The race has attracted national attention, especially from grassroots activists who accuse Scozzafava of not being conservative enough to run under the Republican party mantle.

“Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty,” the former Alaska governor wrote on her Facebook page. “Political parties must stand for something.”

Palin then urged her supporters to donate to Hoffman, who she said “has not been anointed by any political machine.”

Just minutes before she made the announcement, Pawlenty happened to be speaking to reporters in Washington after a fundraiser for his new political action committee. The Minnesota governor refused to make an endorsement when asked about the race.

“You know I haven’t been following that, I haven’t studied the race at all,” he said. “It’s not that I would or wouldn’t, I just don’t know anything about it. I haven’t taken the time to study their positions, their records, so I haven’t taken a position on it.”

The Minnesota governor did venture to make a prediction in two other high-profile campaigns, the Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races. Pawlenty predicted victory for Republicans, but quickly hedged on New Jersey.

“I think we’re going to win them both,” he said. “In New Jersey, I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. But it sure looks like Republicans are going to win in Virginia. New Jersey’s going to be a closer call, but that’s also a tougher state for Republicans. But if the election were held today I think we’d win them both.”

Scozzafava and Hoffman are on the ballot along with Democrat Bill Owens. Election Day is November 3.

UPDATE: Another conservative who may have an interest in running for the GOP presidential nomination is weighing in on the race.

Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, said he supports Hoffman. Filling in as guest host Friday morning on Bill Bennett’s “Morning in America” national radio program, Santorum said “the Republican candidate has been in the process of disqualifying herself.”

“You’re not throwing your vote away on [Hoffman],” added Santorum.

“This is a race that we need to win,” said Santorum, who added that even though he’s never endorsed a third party candidate before, he thinks Hoffman is the best chance to win.

Santorum last month acknowledged his interest in a possible 2012 bid for the White House. His September trip to Iowa also raised eyebrows. While Santorum lost his 2006 re-election bid, he’s still well regarded in Republican circles, especially among social conservatives.

Major Cash Haul for Conservative Third-party Candidate in NY

October 23rd, 2009 01:46 PM ET  From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

(CNN) – Doug Hoffman – the conservative third party candidate running in upstate New York’s closely watched special congressional election – raked in $116,000 in the last 24 hours, a campaign spokesman confirmed to CNN.

The cash haul came the same day former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made a surprise endorsement in the race, voicing her support of Hoffman over the Republican Party’s nominee, Dede Scozzafava.

But Hoffman spokesman Rob Ryan said much of the cash came before Palin made her endorsement public Wednesday evening, and is more a sign of the campaign’s growing momentum in the race’s final days. Other conservatives have also recently aligned behind Hoffman, including former Rep. Dick Armey, former Sen. Rick Santorum, and Rep. Michele Bachmann.

In recent weeks, conservative activists have launched massive online efforts urging supporters to donate to Hoffman in the race’s final days to send a message to Republican Party leadership.

“It’s sort of like what you saw with Obama…when you hit a certain critical mass of media attention, and the bloggers writing about you and everything else, it starts driving the money,” said Ryan.

The election to fill the House seat for New York’s 23rd district arose after former Republican Rep. John M. McHugh resigned the post to become secretary of the army. The campaign has exposed division amongst the GOP over whether to support the more moderate Republican candidate or the upstart third-party challenger whose stances are more in line with those of the conservative base.