Conservative Doug Hoffman Running Again for Upstate New York House Seat

Conservative Doug Hoffman, who all but forced the Republican Party's anointed candidate out of a congressional campaign in upstate New York last fall, only to see the long-held GOP seat fall to a Democrat, says he is running again this year.

Hoffman expects to campaign as a Republican this time against Democrat Rep. Bill Owens, who won in November. His victory was relished by Democrats because they saw it as a sign that ideologically pure conservatives were splitting the Republican Party, the Wall Street Journal reported. Dede Scozzafava, the Republican hopeful, dropped out and endorsed Owens after Hoffman and other conservatives argued that she was too liberal.

Hoffman, a CPA who opposed the stimulus package, wants another crack at it this year and is seeking the nominations of the Republican, Independence and Conservative parties (the latter backed him last year).

In a letter to supporters, he said business clients tell him "tax burdens and government regulations they face are breaking their back" and the direction the nation is taking "is breaking their spirit."

Owens, an attorney, is serving on Capitol Hill from the northern New York district formerly represented by Republican John M. McHugh, who resigned to become secretary of the Army in the Obama administration.