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WASHINGTON -- The Upstate New York congressman who faced overflowing crowds of protesters at town hall meetings managed to raise a record amount of money after the protests gained national attention. U.S. Rep. Tom Reed raised $585,282 in the first quarter of the year, a personal high for the fourth-term Republican from Corning. Reed's cash haul more than doubled the amount raised by each of the other members of Congress from Upstate New York, according to new disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. "We are off to our best start ever with more than a half-million dollars in...

Updated 12:30 PM | Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., announced Tuesday that he will retire from Congress after just two full terms. “After careful thought and consideration, I have decided not to seek re-election for the 21st Congressional District this November,” he wrote in a news release. “It has truly been a privilege to serve, and I plan on continuing to work for a brighter future for the region.” Owens faced a somewhat competitive race against former Bush White House staffer Elise Stefanik. Republicans view the now-open seat in upstate New York as a potential pickup opportunity in 2014. In 2012,...

<p>On September 30, 2013, at about 6:30 p.m., Democratic challenger Martha Robertson in the upstate NY-23 district, sent a fundraising email claiming that “GOP Ops” had been “caught” trying to take down her website, and urging people to fight back and donate to her campaign, providing a phone number for those who could not get through to the website.</p>

If elected in November, Love would be the first black Republican woman in Congress and Utah's first black representative. She said she would join the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C., should she win. "Yes, yes. I would join the Congressional Black Caucus and try to take that thing apart from the inside out," she said.

<p>BROOKSVILLE - Steven Langone was at the Publix supermarket on Mariner Boulevard on Thursday morning handing out flyers and asking people to join him in his efforts to kick County Commissioner Jeff Stabins out of office.</p> <p>This morning, he plans to do the same at the Sweetbay, just up the road from his Elgin home.</p>

A Democratic congressman who backed Speaker Nancy Pelosi for minority leader said Monday it is "quite possible" he might vote for Republican John Boehner for Speaker in the next Congress. Rep. Bill Owens (N.Y.) said he voted for Pelosi (D-Calif.) for minority leader in a House Democratic caucus meeting last week, even though he thinks she is too liberal. But Owens said he is open to supporting Boehner, whom House Republicans designated as the next Speaker, when the full House votes next year.

The NRCC provided a polling memo that showed Doheny ahead of Owens 51 percent to 37 percent. The poll, however, was conducted Sept 22- 23, before conservative Doug Hoffman suspended his campaign this week. Hoffman, who was running on the Conservative Party ballot line, threatened to draw significant support away from Doheny in what is a Republican leaning district. While Hoffman is no longer actively campaigning, his name will still appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Earlier this morning Doug Hoffman announced he was dropping out of the race and is supporting my candidacy for Congress to take back the 23rd. I am deeply appreciative of Doug’s support. Now, more than ever, Republicans, Conservatives and independents are united in our efforts to defeat Bill Owens in November. Thank you for all your support. Please read a copy of the article that appeared in this morning’s Adirondack Daily Enterprise. Hoffman out of Congress race SARANAC LAKE — Doug Hoffman has dropped out of the race to represent New York’s 23rd Congressional District. Hoffman’s name will still appear...

Businessman Matt Doheny's GOP primary victory Tuesday night sets Republicans up for a case of déjà vu in upstate New York's 23rd district. Doheny led accountant Doug Hoffman 53 percent to 47 percent when the race was called with just over 93 percent reporting. But Hoffman holds the Conservative Party line and has promised to campaign through November. That would create the same scenario that helped Rep. Bill Owens (D) win last year's special election against Hoffman and Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava.

Long notes Doheny called Scozzafava “terrific” in a July 23, 2009 Watertown Times article and pledged to do “everything I can for her and more.” He subsequently contributed $2,400 to Scozzafava’s campaign – the maximum allowed by law.

English novelist George Eliot once penned the following: "Iteration, like friction, is likely to generate heat instead of progress." Albert Einstein famously quipped, "insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  There are more than a few famous quotes on the destructive nature inherent in the repetition of foolish behavior. What is to be said for the way in which the Republican Party is actively pursuing a repeat of last November's special election for NY's 23rd Congressional District? If you were outraged at Dede Scozzafava, wait until you see their latest candidate, Matt Doheny. It...

Doug Hoffman, who took the North Country by storm in the NY-23 special election last fall and became a cause celebre for the Tea Party movement, has had trouble catching fire in his re-match attempt against Democratic Rep. Bill Owens. Hoffman’s GOP opponent, Matt Doheny, has sewn up the support of most local party leaders, a number of whom have grumbled to me about Hoffman’s lack of fire in the belly – even though he has managed to maintain the support of state Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long. (Doheny has the Indy line, while Owens has the Democratic and WFP...

Lanky, spectacled and soft-spoken, Douglas L. Hoffman looks every bit the certified public accountant, businessman and financial planner he is. The Saranac Lake resident is a self-made millionaire — a savvy businessman with a seemingly endless reserve of energy who was driven to succeed from an early age. The story of his business success is interesting, even if it ended there. But last year Mr. Hoffman stepped into the world of politics, launching a third-party bid for New York's 23rd Congressional District seat, which includes 650,000 residents in all or parts of 11 counties, including St. Lawrence, Lewis and Jefferson

GOP Faces Possible NY 23 Repeat June 21, 2010 3:09 PM By Reid Wilson GOPers stung by a divisive intra-party battle last fall face the prospect of a split party, once again, in the race for an upstate NY House seat that should favor the minority. Last Nov., Rep. Bill Owens (D) won Army Sec. John McHugh's seat with just 48.3% of the vote. Still, it was enough to win after Assemb. Dede Scozzafava (R) and accountant Doug Hoffman, running on the Conservative Party line, split the GOP vote. After Hoffman attacked Scozzafava's moderate -- GOPers backing Hoffman labeled her...

Dede Scozzafava's friends have another bad day ... Doug Hoffman 2010 going strong in NY23! Yep, even the north country New York GOP has good news for us. Happy St. Patrick's Day. "Mr. Barclay was the most outspoken of the potential candidates during his brief flirtation with the seat, with Mr. Owens and Mr. Hoffman being his two main targets for criticism." - Watertown Daily News

New conservative candidates are emerging in New York House races ... updates are included in this thread. Perhaps the most exciting new conservative on the scene is Retired Army colonel Chris Gibson (R) in NY-20. (Recall that freshman Rep. Murphy was elected last spring in a tight special election over GOPer Jim Tedisco.) An Albany Times Union blog reports: "Retired Army colonel Chris Gibson of Kinderhook won an endorsement from the Clifton Park Republican Committee Thursday night. The members talked to Gibson as well as the other men looking to challenge Democrat U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy in the 20th Congressional...

WATERTOWN, NY - After a hotly contested race in 23rd Congressional District last year, Republican Accountant, Doug Hoffman, announced Monday that he will again run for Congress. Hoffman, who owns thirteen businesses, made his candidacy known today in the form of a letter on his campaign Web site. During an interview Tuesday with the Gouverneur Times, Hoffman admits "I've been campaigning behind the scenes."

In interviews with the AP, at least nine of the 39 Democrats - or their spokesmen - either declined to state their positions or said they were undecided about the revised legislation, making them likely targets for intense wooing by Pelosi and Obama. Three of them - Brian Baird of Washington, Bart Gordon of Tennessee and John Tanner of Tennessee - are not seeking re-election this fall. The others are Rick Boucher of Virginia, Suzanne Kosmas of Florida, Frank Kratovil of Maryland, Michael McMahon of New York, Scott Murphy of New York and Glenn Nye of Virginia. Several lawmakers' offices...

Interesting take on the two-step campaign that will be waged for the NY-23 race this year.

Three months after a rift between GOP party leaders and grass-roots conservatives led to the special election loss of a historically Republican-held seat in upstate New York, another campaign melodrama is taking shape in the same district. Doug Hoffman, last November’s Conservative Party nominee in New York’s 23rd District who is vying again for the seat, is refusing to rule out running as a third-party candidate this year if he fails to win the Republican primary. And his leading backer, Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long, told POLITICO that he refuses to endorse any candidate other than Hoffman — raising the...