NEW YORK — Former congressman Anthony Weiner’s status as mayoral front-runner has taken a hit in the wake of new revelations he was engaged in an online sexual relationship last year.
According to a NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released Thursday that was conducted entirely after the news of Weiner’s previously unknown sexting tryst, Weiner now sits solidly behind Council Speaker Christine Quinn among registered Democrats surveyed.
Quinn leads all Democrats at 25 percent, with Weiner nine points behind her at 16 percent. This represents a dramatic turnaround from the last Marist poll in June, which showed Weiner five points ahead of Quinn, 25 to 20 percent.
“For many Democrats the latest revelations about Anthony Weiner are more of the same, only more so,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, in a statement. “Weiner has lost his lead and his negatives are at an all-time high.”
According to the survey, 55 percent of those surveyed now have an unfavorable impression of Weiner, which, according to the pollsters, represents his highest negative rating this election season. That’s up from just 36 percent who had a negative view of him in June.
The new sexting revelations may not be the last: On Thursday, Weiner said he believed there are likely two more women whom he engaged with sexually online after resigning from office.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and former city comptroller Bill Thompson are tied just behind Weiner at 14 percent, while the current city comptroller, John Liu, continues to languish in the single digits, at 7 percent. The long-shot campaigns of Erick Salgado and former councilman Sal Albanese garnered the support of 2 and 1 percent of those polled, respectively.
Nearly one in five people polled said they’re still undecided in the race.
However, among those who self-identified as likely voters in the September primary, Quinn captured an even larger lead with 26 percent of those polled supporting her, while de Blasio, Weiner and Thompson were statistically tied at 17, 16 and 15 percent, respectively.
The poll was conducted entirely on July 24 and surveyed 551 New York City Democrats. Among those Democrats surveyed, the poll has a margin of error plus or minus 4.2 percent.
