McHugh was nominated to become United States Secretary of the Army on June 2, 2009, and resigned as representative of New York's 23rd congressional district on September 21, 2009, after being confirmed by the Senate.
[5] The 2009 special election received significant national attention, and was alternately described as "a referendum on President Barack Obama" and "a fight over the identity of the Republican Party.
"[6][7] The race was also noteworthy due to the Tea Party movement influence on its outcome,[8][9] and for its impact on same-sex marriage legislation in New York.
[26] State Senator Darrel Aubertine, who represents most of the northern portion of the congressional district, was the most widely rumored potential Democratic candidate, but he declined.
[27] State Senator David Valesky, who represents most of the southern portion of the congressional district, initially said he was interested in running, but later decided against it.
Senator Fred Thompson, endorsed Hoffman rather than the Republican candidate because they deemed Scozzafava insufficiently conservative and ideologically indistinguishable from the Democrat.
"[43][better source needed] The Hoffman campaign ran television advertisements depicting Scozzafava and Owens as "two peas in a liberal pod.
[48] Scozzafava's record in the New York State Assembly included votes in favor of same-sex marriage,[49] and she had also received an award from a Planned Parenthood affiliate in 2008.
"[54] While Bill Owens did not favor public funding for abortion, he did support President Obama's 2009 stimulus package[53] and "card check" legislation.
[4] Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, while having initially supported the GOP nominee,[59] remarked that he was "deeply upset" about her endorsement of Owens after Scozzafava's withdrawal from the race.
[60] RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele questioned party leaders in upstate New York for using a committee process to select a congressional candidate.
[64] On Election Day, police were called to at least two polling sites in St. Lawrence County following "overzealous electioneering" by supporters of Hoffman.
[65] Later, Hoffman accused the Democratic Party of "bringing in ACORN" and trying to "steal this election away from the 23rd district", asserting that a campaign volunteer's tires had been slashed.
[166] On November 18, in a letter posted on his campaign website, Hoffman declared that "ACORN, the unions and Democratic Party...tampered with the ballots of voters in NY-23.
"[167] Jerry O. Eaton, Jefferson County Republican elections commissioner, called Hoffman's assertion "absolutely false".
[168] On November 19, the Gouverneur Times alleged that a computer virus had "tainted" results and "cast doubt on the accuracy of the counts retrieved from any of the machines.
"[174][175] Commentator Chris Good described the term as follows: "The gist, basically, is that if you're a moderate Republican and the conservative wing of the GOP sets out to get you, and does, you got Scozzafavaed.
[177] In January 2011, Scozzafava was appointed New York Deputy Secretary of State for Local Government by Democratic Governor Andrew M.
[178] While some observers called the race "a referendum on President Barack Obama" and "a fight over the identity of the Republican Party",[6][7] others saw "a victory for populist conservatism".
"[181] Elected officials and observers opined that Scozzafava's showing in the congressional race affected the New York State Senate's December 2, 2009, vote against same-sex marriage legislation.