ALBANY — 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 said Thursday she was backing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over Republican Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava in the 23rd Congressional District race that includes Democrat Bill Owens.
The off-season race to replace GOP former Rep. John McHugh, whom President 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 to 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.