A month from tomorrow Democratic primary voters in New York City will head to the polls and choose their nominee for Mayor. Will they choose Anthony Weiner?
Well, if this recent New York Times/Siena College survey is any indication, the answer is a resounding no:
Christine C. Quinn is leading the crowded field in the Democratic primary race for New York City mayor, lifted by support among Manhattanites and higher-income voters, the latest New York Times/Siena College poll finds.
But just over a month before the Sept. 10 primary, Ms. Quinn is still well below the level needed to avoid a runoff, and many voters remain undecided.
Ms. Quinn, the City Council speaker, is backed by 25 percent of Democratic voters, followed by 16 percent for William C. Thompson Jr., a former city comptroller, and 14 percent for Bill de Blasio, the public advocate.
Anthony D. Weiner garners the support of 10 percent of Democratic voters,confirming his slippage in the race that other surveys have also recorded since revelations that he continued to have sexually explicit exchanges with women online after he resigned from Congress two years ago. The remaining candidates in the poll each drew less than 5 percent; 26 percent of the Democratic voters surveyed were undecided.
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Perhaps the good news for Weiner is that more than one-fourth of primary voters are undecided. But that’s probably about it. His attitude towards reporters and staffers at this point is nothing short of embarrassing. Voters already hesitant and leery about entrusting him with the keys to the city must be at their wits' end.
Meanwhile, Eliot Spitzer is doing just fine:
In the Democratic primary race for city comptroller, the poll finds Eliot Spitzer with a nine-point lead over Scott M. Stringer. Mr. Spitzer, who resigned as governor after his patronization of prostitutes became public, is at 44 percent. Mr. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, registers 35 percent. Nineteen percent of Democratic voters are undecided about the comptroller’s race.Mr. Spitzer is buoyed by strong support among black voters – 57 percent back him, compared with 37 percent of white voters. And while voters under age 45 are split between the candidates, older voters favor Mr. Spitzer. The poll finds no difference in preferences between men and women in the comptroller’s race.
I’m not sure what’s worse: eliciting sex from prostitutes after signing the bill banning such a practice in your home state or continuing extra-marital relations on the Web even after you’ve been caught, shamed, and forced to resign from Congress. Either way, Spitzer must be loving life right now. He’s sitting pretty at 44 percent with a nine point lead over his closest opponent. His comeback tour is in full swing. Weiner, on the other hand, is way over his head -- even though he optimistically assures reporters and voters alike he’s “going to win.”
Perhaps Weiner should have followed Spitzer’s example and run for a less prestigious office or waited a few extra years before throwing his hat into the ring. But apparently that’s not how he “rolls.”
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