GOP hopefuls sling more mud before debate

Republican congressional candidates Matthew A. Doheny and Douglas L. Hoffman took time before Tuesday night's debate to continue slinging mud at each other from their respective sides of the 23rd Congressional District.

"I'm the only conservative that can actually win," Mr. Doheny told a crowd of about 20 supporters in his Watertown campaign headquarters. "That's the practical reality and where we're at right now."

The opponents for the Sept. 14 GOP primary strayed from the bread-and-butter issues during their debate last week in Plattsburgh to launch personal attacks at each other, leaving event organizer Mark L. Barie, chairman of the Upstate New York Tea Party, to criticize both candidates.

Mr. Doheny used the Tuesday morning news conference to address comments Mr. Hoffman made during the last week's debate in Plattsburgh.

"It absolutely blows my mind when someone goes out and spends nine months of their life to get the endorsements of every county committee, and has been successful at it every single time ... and can still be called the spoiler," Mr. Doheny said. "It's truly laughable."

Mr. Hoffman said his GOP opponent would act as a "spoiler" in the race that includes Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh.

Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Hoffman's camp distributed a news release quoting campaign senior media adviser Nelson Warfield.

"We are not surprised that in the final days before the Republican Primary, liberal Republican Matt Doheny is using the 'spoiler argument' in an attempt to rescue his lackluster and ill conceived campaign that is failing to ignite interest among GOP Primary voters," Mr. Warfield wrote in the release.

"This argument would perhaps hold some water if Matt Doheny had a realistic chance of actually winning the Republican Primary. Yet, after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of his Wall Street bonuses to try and convince voters that he actually does hold some conservative views, he is now, a week before the primary, exactly where he was when this primary began; losing to Doug Hoffman."