Credit: YouTube.
It would appear that anyone counting Anthony Weiner out of the mayoral race was mistaken.
In the first poll since the former congressman announced his candidacy last week, Weiner placed second among the registered Democrats surveyed, within striking distance of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Quinn would receive 24 percent of the vote if the primary were held today, the Marist poll found—just five points higher than the man whose political career was seemingly derailed just two years ago by a lewd photos scandal.
Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said the race would likely come down to a runoff between the top two candidates. Quinn currently has an edge over Weiner in a head-to-head matchup, commanding 48 percent of support to his 33 percent, but Miringoff stressed that it was too soon to tell.
“The Democratic primary for mayor remains wide open,” he said.
Trailing Weiner with 14 percent of Democratic support was Bill de Blasio, then Bill Thompson (13 percent), John Liu (8 percent), Sal Albanese (1 percent) and Erick Salgado (less than 1 percent). More than 20 percent of Democrats surveyed reported that they were still undecided.
With the race heating up, Weiner heads to his first mayoral forum on Tuesday night. He joked on Twitter earlier in the day that he had planned to try out the city’s new bike share program but that the weather was forcing him to seek alternative transportation.
“Too wet for me to @CitibikeNYC to the debate. #JustLostNYCRainBikersAssociation,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Christine Quinn faced criticism over pulling out of the debate, saying she had a scheduling conflict. The forum’s sponsor, New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, opposes some of the school reforms she supports and accused her of ducking the discussion.
Quinn’s spokesman Mike Morey dismissed the criticism, telling the Daily News that she has already attended two forums on education this month.
