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| Doug Hoffman |
On September 14, Doug Hoffman lost the Republican primary to Matt Doheny but insisted he would stay in the race on the Conservative Party line. On October 5, he stepped aside and dropped out of the race after repeated suggestions that he would only hand the election to Bill Owens (the Democrat, incumbent candidate) by splitting the Republican vote between him and Doheny. "It was never my intention to split the Republican vote in the 23rd District,” Hoffman said in a statement. “So today, I withdraw as a candidate from this race. Matt Doheny and I may have differed on some issues during the course of our primary race. Now, we must put those differences aside and do what is best for our nation. So today, I am asking all my supporters to cast their vote for Matt Doheny on Election Day, November 2nd."
In other words, many have suggested that Hoffman step down in order to not split the Republican vote and increase Owens chances of winning the race. This is a clever campaign strategy in order to help Doheny to grab more votes. This particular strategy involves voter targeting which involves categorizing different groups of voters, identifying their political preferences, and designing appeals to which they are likely to respond.
Hoffman is also implementing an attitude-oriented strategy by stating that by him dropping out of the race, he is doing “what is best for our nation.” Those who favor and agree with his position are more likely to cast their vote for Doheny than Owens. It will be interesting to see if these strategies that were recently executed will help Doheny or if Bill Owens, the incumbent candidate and projected winner of the race, will have the votes and claim victory.
Will Doug Hoffman's name still appear on the ballot, even though he's dropped out? If it is, I think that could still affect the race. Voters who aren't very informed or who still think Matt Doheny is too moderate might vote for Hoffman anyway. Even though Dede Scozzafava dropped out of the special election in 2009, she still got about 5% of the vote, more than the margin between Hoffman and Owens.
ReplyDeleteI think that Hoffman's strategy is very clever in helping Doheny gain more support. I also think that Hoffman's speech stating that his actions are for the best of the nation will greatly impact voters in the long run. I am interested to see whether or not Hoffman stepping aside will increase Doheny's chances of winning the race and if so, by how much. I am also curious to see how Owens will address this issue.
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