Nancy Larraine Hoffmann

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Nancy Larraine Hoffmann is a former Republican State Senator from Central New York State.

Career

She was first elected in 1984 to the New York State Senate representing Syracuse, New York and its surrounding environs, including suburbs and rural areas, as a Democrat. She remained a Democrat until 1998 when she switched to the Republican Party. Prior to becoming a senator, she served as a city councilwoman in Syracuse.

As a senator she was Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee from 1985 to 1998 and Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee from 1999 to 2004. She and her family own a farm in Onondaga County, New York.

Considered a liberal Republican, Hoffmann faced challenges and criticism from the conservative wing of her party for being pro-choice and supporting gay rights.^{[citation needed]} In February 2003 the Syracuse Post Standard reported that she was the costliest legislator in Central New York, costing taxpayers $386,183 for office and staff expenses in a six month period.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004 she was challenged in the Republican primary by Tom Dadey, a conservative activist. Hoffmann defeated Dadey in the Republican primary and faced a general election with Oneida-based Democrat David Valesky and Dadey, who ran on the Conservative Party line. She narrowly lost to Valesky in the three-way race.

In 2006, she indicated that she would run for Lieutenant Governor in the upcoming election, but on May 19, 2006, she announced that she was dropping out of the race.