Call it the upstate earthquake felt around the national political world.
Yesterday’s dramatic decision by Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the liberal Republican congressional hopeful, to suspend her campaign in the face of a massive revolt by conservative-oriented voters in her economically troubled North Country district makes Conservative contender Doug Hoffman the all-but-certain victor over Bill Owens, the Democratic candidate whose credentials were vetted out of President Obama’s White House.
If, as insiders from both parties predicted yesterday, Hoffman winds up the winner Tuesday, it will be because of a huge grass-roots outcry from voters troubled by Obama’s big-government policies, as well as Albany’s crushing state taxing and spending programs with which Scozzafava was heavily identified.
A Hoffman win will send shock waves throughout Democratic ranks nationally and in New York, especially among the centrist Blue Dogs, whose moderation usually reflects the presence of a sizeable Republican voting bloc in their districts.
“Upstate Democrats are going to be shaking in their boots” if Hoffman wins, one of New York’s best-known Democrats said yesterday.
“This strongly suggests that conservative candidates will have a huge base of support next year,” the Democrat said.
Perhaps most worrisome for the political status quo in both the Democratic and Republican parties is the certainty that Scozzafava’s unprecedented decision will be recognized as further proof voters are ready to hold incumbents responsible for the deteriorating economy, a crushing tax burden and an often corrupt political culture.