The first poll conducted in the wake of new revelations of inappropriate online conduct by former Congressman Anthony Weiner shows that he has sunk significantly in the polls:
Mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner has suffered a massive erosion of support among New York City Democrats following revelations this weekthat his sexting with women continued long after his 2011 resignation from Congress, a new NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll has found.
Weiner’s favorability rating among registered Democrats has tanked since June, from 52 percent to 30 percent, according to the poll conducted Wednesday. Over that same period, the percentage of Democrats who said they had an unfavorable impression of Weiner spiked from 36 to 55.
His lead over City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has also evaporated; 25 percent of Democrats said they’d now vote for her in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary, and 16 percent said they’d back Weiner. A poll conducted last month had Weiner leading Quinn 25 percent to 20 percent.
“These new revelations have cost Anthony Weiner the lead in the Democratic field,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “His negatives are at an all-time high.”
The reversal puts Weiner among a pack of contenders for the second spot in a runoff, which is looking increasingly likely, as no single candidate appears able to break the 50 percent mark. Weiner is now in a statistical tie with Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and former Comptroller Bill Thompson, who are both at 14 percent.
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Democrats were split on whether Weiner should drop out of the race, as several candidates and newspapers have demanded. The poll found 43 percent of Democrats said he should quit, and 47 percent said he should keep running, numbers within the 4.2 percentage point margin of error.
Weiner has vowed not to drop out.
The poll also found that 46 percent of Democrats said the sexting scandal mattered a great deal or a good amount to them when it came to deciding who to support. More than a third — 35 percent — said the scandal didn’t matter to them at all.
Assuming this holds up in other polls, one wonders how long Weiner really could last in this race.
