Richard A. Hoffman (born June 15, 1971) is a politician and investment banker from the U.S. state of New York. In the 2004 election, he challenged incumbent U.S. Representative Nita Lowey, but was defeated, taking only 30% of the vote in New York's 18th congressional district [1]. In 2006 he ran again, again taking 30% of the vote [2].
Biography
Hoffman was born in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania and attended the University of Pittsburgh. He worked as an investment portfolio manager prior to entering the House race and had not served in any political capacity prior to this race but has since been elected as the executive director of the Republican Party of Yonkers. Hoffman lives in Yonkers, New York with his wife (Vicki) and their three children.
2004 race
In U.S. House elections, the vast majority of incumbents are re-elected, and Lowey was not seen as particularly vulnerable. Accordingly, Lowey raised over $1.6 million, while Hoffman got only $63,355 in donations [3]. On the issues, Hoffman was strongly conservative. He received a "D" rating (the second-lowest possible) from the American Civil Liberties Union, while getting high marks from the National Rifle Association and the American Conservative Union. He also received a ranking of "anti-choice" from NARAL Pro-Choice America.
2006 race
In 2006 Richard Hoffman ran again, and again had little success. Richard Hoffman received almost no money from the Republican Party and is quoted as saying "I would have liked to have had a lot more support from the state and particularly the national (Republican) committees. I felt ignored and abandoned."[4] Before the election, a blogger produced a theory by which Hoffman could win this election.[5] David Prunier, an anti-war conservative, would run as an independent. His war stance would split the liberal vote with Nita Lowey, who voted for the Iraq war[6], thereby giving the election to Hoffman. In the end Prunier did not run[7].
