Doug Hoffman is the third party candidate who goes into Election Day in first place.

The latest Siena College poll has Hoffman with 41 percent of the vote.

Democrat Bill Owens has 36 percent of the vote.

The underdog rose to the top of the heap by making a campaign out of calling his Republican candidate a liberal and tapping into people's discontent with both parties.

It was a strategy that successfully cut away at the front-runner's base, finally forcing Scozzafava to drop out of the race.

Scozzafava's decision gave Hoffman the support of mainstream Republicans.

He had already picked up support from key Republicans like former New York Governor George Pataki, former Senator Fred Thompson and former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.