Fox News reports:

The move comes on the heels of a new poll that showed Republican Dede Scozzafava had fallen behind her two competitors in a race too close.

Republican state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for upstate New York’s 23rd Congressional seat, leaving Democratic nominee Bill Owens and Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman in the race that will conclude Tuesday.

The move comes on the heels of a new poll that showed Scozzafava had fallen behind her two competitors in a race too close. The Siena College poll has Owens picking up 36 percent of the vote, while Hoffman has 35 percent. Scozzafava has 20 percent, with nine percent of voters undecided.
…
“The reality that I’ve come to accept is that in today’s political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money — and as I’ve been outspent on both sides, I’ve been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record,” she said.

Update: You’ll feel tingly all over to hear that both Steele and Newt have endorsed Hoffman, now that Scozzafava has dropped out.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele needs to do his homework before going back on Sean Hannity’s radio show. Today, Hannity asked him about the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee’s support of the liberal Republican in the race against Conservative Party [candidate] and Republican Doug Hoffman for the House seat vacated by John McHugh. Here’s a brief excerpt; listen closely to Steele disputing Hannity about Scozzafava’s position on card check:

The two sources of proof that Michael Steele is mistaken are Dede Scozzafava and Dede Scozzafava, in writing and on tape.

On Oct 19, 2009, the all things liberal labor In These Times reported:

In These Times obtained a copy of a candidate questionnaire from the AFL-CIO’s legislative department. In that document, Scozzafava pledged to co-sponsor EFCA with card check, as did her Democratic opponent Bill Owens. To wit:

If elected, would you co-sponsor and vote for the Employee Free Choice Act (S.800/H.R. 1041), which passed the House by a vote of 241-185 on March 1, 2007 but was blocked by a Senate filibuster in June, 2007 (the Senate failed to invoke cloture by a vote of 51-48 vote)?

The Employee Free Choice Act, introduced by Senator Kennedy in the Senate and Representative George Miller in the House, would require employers to honor their workers’ decision to join a union after a majority of them signed a union authorization card or petition; establishes first contract mediation and arbitration; and creates meaningful penalties against employers who interfere with, coerce or fire workers for attempting to join a union. OWEN [sic]– YES, DEDE – YES

That same day, John McCormack of The Weekly Standard reported:

“I asked Assemblywoman Scozzafava if she supports card check. “Yes, yes I do,” she replied.”

The Scozzafava campaign quickly backtracked after first alleging that John McCormark yelled at her while asking questions. They did so when he played the full audio of the incident for the Associated Press and they confirmed his version of events.

Before the last shred of their credibility is lost, perhaps Newt Gingrich and Michael Steele should ask John McCormack if they can also listen to that audio.

Note: Visit DougHoffmanForCongress.com.