Credit: Bess Adler
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer said he has submitted 27,000 signatures for his bid to run for City Comptroller.
Spitzer, who made his surprising announcement that he would run on Sunday, needed 3,750 signatures to get on the ballot for the Sept. 10 primary.
It is not yet known how many of the 27,000 signatures are valid. Signatures with missing addresses or dates could be dismissed.
But Spitzer told reporters on Thursday night that he is confident that he has enough qualified signatures, The New York Post reports.
A smiling Spitzer arrived at the Board of Elections headquarters downtown at about 10:30 p.m. to deliver the four boxes of signed petitions, the Post reports.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Spitzer’s lead rival in the race, reportedly submitted more than 100,000 signatures.
While some political strategists questioned if Spitzer could gather enough signatures in time to even get on the primary ballot, the disgraced ex-governor was leading the race in an early poll released on Thursday.
According to The Wall Street Journal/NBC 4-Marist Poll, Spitzer was ahead of Stringer 42 to 33 percent among registered Democrats.
Thursday’s poll also showed that 67 percent of Democrats believe he should be given a second chance after resigning as governor in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal.
Spitzer, who is self-funding his campaign, reportedly paid canvassers $800 per day as he scrambled to collect the signatures in time for Thursday’s deadline.
