Anthony Weiner is officially running for mayor of New York City. We know this because he
to his new AnthonyWeiner4Mayor YouTube channel in the middle of the night. Anthony Weiner: so hip to technology, will never accidentally tweet a
“Look, I made some big mistakes. And I know I let a lot of people down. … I hope I get a second chance to work for you.”
Will voters give it to him? Right now, it doesn’t look like it; a poll taken before his candidacy was announced found that 49 percent of constituents would not vote for him when September 10th’s Democratic primary rolls around, while 38 percent approved. 52 percent of women opposed his candidacy; only 35 percent said he should run.
This could be good news for Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker whose support has been steadily plunging over the past few months. Back in February (when Weiner wasn’t included in the list of possible candidates) she enjoyed a high of 37 percent; now, she has only 25 percent. Quinn’s received a lot of flack for her close ties to Bloomberg and reluctance to support some crucial issues that should be liberal no-brainers, like paid sick leave. But now voters might see her as an intrepid trailblazer (she’d be the first female and gay mayor of NY) going up against a publicly-shamed perv.
Weiner’s run sets up an interesting dynamic between the two politicians, but it could also be one of mutual destruction. Former city Controller Bill Thompson has been quietly running a super low-key, traditional campaign without any drama. He and Bill de Blasio each have 10 percent of Democratic support right now, according to recent polls, but the primary is still four months away.
We can’t wait for the television ads to start running; that’s when things will really get going. And obviously the New York Post puns are going to be top-notch.
[NYT]
