NY-23: Palin For Hoffman

The title of her book is "Going Rogue," and ex-AK Gov. Sarah Palin (R) stays true to form today, as she announced on her Facebook page that she's endorsing accountant Doug Hoffman (C) in the NY-23 special election, and not the GOP's nominee, Assemb. DeDe Scozzafava.

Palin, in her endorsement:

Political parties must stand for something. When Republicans were in the wilderness in the late 1970s, Ronald Reagan knew that the doctrine of "blurring the lines" between parties was not an appropriate way to win elections. Unfortunately, the Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate who more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race. This is why Doug Hoffman is running on the Conservative Party's ticket.

Republicans and conservatives around the country are sending an important message to the Republican establishment in their outstanding grassroots support for Doug Hoffman: no more politics as usual.

Palin is the latest GOPer to back Hoffman, including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN 06), Fred Thompson and ex-House Maj. Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), and continues Hoffman's momentum. Meanwhile, ex-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) has earned a lot of gruff in recent days from conservatives for his endorsement of Scozzafava.

On another note, FEC numbers for the race were released in the race tonight, and Owens swept the field away. He raised over $500K, and had $128K in the bank for the final 2+ weeks of the campaign. Hoffman brought in $300K, including over $100K of his own cash, and had just over $70K CoH. As was widely expected, Scozzafava trailed the pack, bringing in $250K, and banking just $40K for the closing weeks.

(Tim Sahd)