Palin backs 3rd-party candidate in NY House race

VALERIE BAUMAN AP 10/24/2009 01:45

Doug Hoffman

ALBANY, N.Y. — Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has endorsed a third-party candidate over the GOP-backed contender in New York's congressional special election, saying her own party has abandoned its core values.

The former Alaska governor, who was Arizona Sen. John McCain's running-mate last year, said Thursday she was backing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over Republican Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava in the 23rd Congressional District race.

Palin said Hoffman, a businessman, stands for Republican principles — smaller government, lower taxes and a commitment to individual liberty — and that Scozzafava is more aligned with Democrats.

The offseason race to replace former Rep. John McHugh, whom President Barack Obama named as his Army secretary, has drawn national attention to a growing splinter between Republican moderates and conservatives who say they want the party to return its core values.

"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," Palin said in a post on her Facebook page Thursday night.

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