A poll conducted over the weekend by the Club for Growth shows Conservative Doug Hoffman surging into the lead in New York’s 23rd Congressional District. The Oct. 24-25 poll shows Conservative Doug Hoffman with 31.3%, Democrat Bill Owens with 27.0%, Republican Dede Scozzafava with 19.7%, and 22% undecided.

Multiple viable political parties have existed in New York State for some time. In addition to the Republican and Democratic parties, there have been the Liberal and Conservative parties, and more recently the Working Families Party which was organized by the now-infamous Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

The Conservative Party was founded in 1962, and eight short years later, James Buckley was elected to the United States Senate running on the Conservative line only, in a three-way race against Republican and Democratic candidates. Popular Buffalo mayor Jimmy Griffin was first elected solely on the Conservative line in 1977, and served for sixteen years.

Many see in the Hoffman candidacy a reprise of the Buckley contest. Outsiders look at party labels, and assume that Hoffman is splitting the Republican vote with Scozzafava, leaving Owens with the Democratic half. But that is not the way New York State works — it divides along conservative-liberal lines. In reality, Owens and Scozzafava are splitting the liberal vote, leaving Hoffman with the conservative half.

The Hoffman candidacy is also noteworthy for attracting the support of tea party patriots throughout the country, giving it national resonance. A Hoffman win would have tremendous implications for grass roots power, especially since both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have been fundraising for his Democratic opponent and Newt Gingrich has vehemently supported his Republican opponent.

Doug Hoffman has been compared to the Jimmy Stewart character in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. If he wins, for a moment we can all enjoy the feeling of a return to those more honest times.