WATCH: Anthony Weiner announces New York mayoral run in new video
The disgraced former congressman appears with his wife and admits to making "big mistakes"
It's official: Anthony Weiner is running for mayor of New York City. In a new video, Weiner appears with his wife, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, to ask New Yorkers to give him a "second chance" after admitting to making some "big mistakes."
A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday suggests Weiner has some ground to make up. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn currently leads the pack of Democratic candidates with 25 percent of the potential vote, with Weiner in second place at 15 percent.
Unsurprisingly, Weiner — who resigned from Congress in 2011 after being caught sending photos of his crotch to women he met on the internet, then lying about it — isn't very popular with female voters. The poll, taken before Weiner's announcement on Wednesday morning, shows that 52 percent of women did not think he should enter race, compared to only 35 percent who thought he should.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The campaign video indulges in plenty of New York nostalgia, including shots of Weiner walking through his old Brooklyn neighborhood where, he claims, he used to play "stickball" in the streets.
In the end, he points to his 64-point plan for New York City, which includes removing barriers to obtaining food stamps, reforming rent regulations, and replacing textbooks with Kindles.
It's not clear how many Democratic allies Weiner will have in the race. As Kevin Robillard notes at Politico, Weiner's former mentor, Sen. Chuck Schumer, has stayed mum about supporting him. Both Clintons have refused to endorse a candidate.
Weiner does have some advantages. As The Wall Street Journal's Andrew Grossman points out, Weiner was very popular in his district as a congressman, and the frontrunner to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg before the Twitter scandal. He also has $3.4 million sitting in a city campaign account that he raised before he resigned.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The election will be held on Nov. 5.
Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.
-
Scoundrels, spies and squires in January TVthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Industry,’ ‘Ponies’ and ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
-
Venezuela: The ‘Donroe doctrine’ takes shapeFeature President Trump wants to impose “American dominance”
-
Giving up the boozeFeature Sobriety is not good for the alcohol industry.
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred