There’s a little dissonance in coverage of the NY-23 special election. Off the record, strategists claim that Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is fighting it out for the lead with Democrat Bill Owens. But public polls still show Hoffman trailing. I double-checked with Markos Moulitsas on whether his Daily Kos/Research 2000 pollshowed movement to Hoffman over any days of polling, reflecting the bad news for GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava. “There really was not any major shift after each night among any of the candidates,” said Moulitsas. On the final days of polling, which happened after Scozzafava’s blunders, Owens was at 34 percent, Scozzafava was at 31 percent, and Hoffman was at 21 percent.
Meanwhile, confirming rumors from earlier today, the Hoffman campaign has released an endorsement from two-time presidential hopeful Steve Forbes, who has championed the flat tax that Hoffman supports.
“Like Doug Hoffman,” said Forbes, “I’m a lifelong Republican. But principles matter. The Republican nominee does not stand for the principles of our party, and I urge Republicans to give their support and their vote to the one candidate who does – Doug Hoffman.”