A poster to the In Box yesterday asked this very astute question:<\/p>\n
Is there any reason this is the “Scozzafava-Owens-Hoffman race” but the race earlier this year was not the “Tedisco-Murphy-SUNDWALL race”?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Regular In Box readers know that during the 20th House District special election, we had a lively debate over NCPR’s coverage of Libertarian candidate Eric Sundwall.<\/p>\n
Sundwall’s supporters sensed, accurately I think, that most reporters considered his campaign to be a sort of footnote.<\/p>\n
When I failed to include Sundwall in my opening piece about the race, John Warren over at Adirondack Almanack fired this salvo:<\/p>\n
That’s a disgrace, it’s un-American and anti-Democratic. The Republican candidate doesn’t even live in the district and you give him more credit then a candidate that does? There is no excuse for this. You owe us serious coverage of all the candidates, not just your hand-picked ones.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here was the argument I put forward at the time (way back in February):<\/p>\n
Third party candidates — and their supporters — typically want the media to treat them as equals with their Republican and Democratic opponents.<\/p>\n
But in most instances, they haven’t done the work to establish their parties as viable political choices.<\/p>\n
Not because their ideas are bad, necessarily — sometimes their ideas are fascinating or compelling.<\/p>\n
But because they haven’t organized, built a party apparatus, raised enough money to campaign, etc. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In fact, our coverage of Conservative Doug Hoffman, from Lake Placid, is a pretty good example of how and when third-party candidates attract serious coverage.<\/p>\n
Hoffman has joined a political movement that is well-organized and well-funded, especially in our region. Conservatives have also exerted serious influence over state elections in the past. <\/p>\n
Hoffman also brings a lot of personal wealth to the race; that’s a big deal in politics.<\/p>\n
My sense is that he could serve as a spoiler in this race, weakening conservative support for Republican Dede Scozzafava. That alone is newsworthy.<\/p>\n
But I also think there’s also a legitimate, if still remote, chance that Hoffman could win. And that, in the final analysis, is why his name is in the headline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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