Curiously low turnout in the heated NY-23 GOP primary
Here’s a curious thing.
The combined vote tally in the much-ballyhooed NY-23 primary between tea party champion Doug Hoffman and establishment Republican Matt Doheny appears to have been only about 31,000 thousand votes.
(I’m fudging a bit because we don’t have the final tally of absentee ballots and these numbers aren’t official.)
In last November’s special election, Doug Hoffman alone received 69,553 votes.
So what gives? Where did all those Hoffman supporters go? Certainly not to Doheny — his numbers were pretty anemic, too.
I know primaries have low turnout generally — but so do special elections.
If these numbers hold up, it means Hoffman managed to bring back only about a quarter of the support he won just a year ago.
This could also be tough news for Republicans in general, given that Democrat Bill Owens managed to win more than 73,000 votes last year.
Tags: election10
What is remarkable is that the primary vote is normally more conservative and diehard. It should have been fertile ground for a Hoffman victory, yet he didn’t win.
Even the diehards are sick of the political scene. Most Republicans don’t like (and are afraid of) the Tea contingent and most Democrats are disheartened by the inaction of the Democrats they elected in 2008 to change Washington.
Thanks for the updates on this blog.
I think the logic of the math just caught up with most Republicans in the NC who really want to win in Nov versus make a point.
As far as this conservative is concerned I had 2 poor candidates to choose from. A nasty drunk NYC guy who suddenly became a Northern NYer and Casper Milquetoast. Owens can sit on his hands and still win.
Now the Governors primary was a lot more interesting and frankly I’m surprised at that outcome.
With Hoffman saying that he will stay into November, registered Republicans may have given up before the primary knowing that Owens will win a 3-way.
With all the news about this primary and all the unbelievable snafaus
in the election Owens won, I can’t believe the lack of interest and turn out for this,
It is disgraceful and the lazy **** and ******* that couldn’t bother have zero right to complain. You should be ashamed.
In some countries, people put their lives on the line to vote and you can’t be torn away from the TV or whatever.
No wonder America gets the dregs to run the government.
Doheny is a shoein, Hoffman almost beat Owens. No logic in comparing the vote count and believing it will be any indicator of the numbers for the election race between Owens and Doheny.