Is the North Country conservative?

I’ve been picking over the close-to-final ballot numbers compiled by Jude Seymour for the Watertown Daily Times coverage of the NY-23 special election.

Here’s a startling discovery. In the region known traditionally as the North Country, Conservative Doug Hoffman got creamed.

Here’s the breakdown.

Doug Hoffman won four North Country counties (Fulton, Hamilton, Jefferson and Lewis) by a total of 1,733 votes. In no case did he win a county in this region by more than 600 votes.

Bill Owens also won four North Country counties (Clinton, Essex, Franklin and St. Lawrence) by a total of 8,318 votes. He won two counties — Clinton and St. Lawrence — by more than 3,000 votes.

The bottom line? Even if all of Dede Scozzafava’s North Country votes are placed in Hoffman’s column, Owens still wins this region.

The Conservative came darn close to prevailing because he ran up very strong vote totals in central New York, where none of the three candidates were well known.

These numbers certainly re-enforce the GOP’s initial instinct, that the best fit for a win here was a moderate like Republican Dede Scozzafava.

If the North Country is staunchly conservative (in the sense that Doug Hoffman suggested) how come a Conservative was beaten straight up in this region by a Democrat?

Your thoughts welcome.