Richard A. Hoffman

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 . In 2006 he ran again, again taking 30% of the vote .

Hoffman was born in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania and attended the University of Pittsburgh. He worked as an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston prior to entering the House race and had not served in any political capacity prior to the race. Hoffman lives in Bronxville, 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 . Initial hopes from Party leaders that Hoffman would self-fund his race were dashed when early polling in the race indicated virtually no support for Hoffman's candidacy and he was advised to not squander his personal assets.

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 Hoffman ran again for Congress, and again had little success. He 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." Before the election, a blogger produced a theory by which Hoffman could win this election. 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 , thereby giving the election to Hoffman. In the end Prunier did not run .