New York state Rep. Dede Scozzafava, a Republican who dramatically withdrew from last year’s NY-23 special election and then endorsed Democrat Bill Owens, has announced that she will not run again for her seat in the legislature.
“If you go back to the run for Congress, I was really looking to do something different and go in a different direction and be challenged differently,” said Scozzafava, the Watertown Daily Times reports. “That hasn’t changed. As much as I’ve enjoyed my time in the state Assembly, I think it’s time for me to take a breather and go in a different direction.”
Scozzafava was nominated by the local GOP chairs for a House seat that became vacant when GOP Rep. John McHugh was appointed to be President Obama’s Secretary of the Army. National conservative groups then strongly objected to her liberal views on issues such as abortion and gay marriage, and mobilized behind Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.
In the face of polls showing her pushed into third place, Scozzafava then withdrew from the race the weekend before the November election, and then endorsed Democratic candidate Bill Owens. Despite polls showing a likely Hoffman victory, Owens ultimately won the race by a narrow margin.
