Poll: Spitzer, Weiner lead in Democratic primary races
Scandal-shamed Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner have slithered atop the a new poll of Democratic voters for New York City comptroller and mayor, according to Quinnipiac University.
Among New York City registered Democrats, former congressman Weiner has 25 percent support to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's 22 percent in the Democratic primary race for mayor. In the Democratic primary fight for city comptroller, former Gov. Spitzer leads Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer 48 to 33 percent. Spitzer, who kicked off his campaign last week, has asked for a second chance from voters whom he has served as governor and attorney general before resigning amid a prostitution scandal in 2008
Despite their prior scandals, both Weiner and Spitzer have higher favorables than unfavorables: Weiner's at 42 percent favorable to 36 percent unfavorable and Spitzer has a 53 percent favorable rating compared to 32 percent unfavorable.
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Among African-Americans, both Spitzer and Weiner hold vast leads over their opponents. Spitzer has 61 percent support among African-Americans with Stringer holding 26 percent. In the mayoral race, Quinn's 16 percent among African-Americans trails former congressman Weiner's 31 percent.
If no candidate in the mayoral primary receives 40 percent of the vote, there'll be a runoff election between the top two candidates. Quinn and Weiner lead other mayoral candidates, including former comptroller William Thompson with 11 percent and public advocate Bill de Blasio at 10 percent.
The poll, conducted from July 8-14, consists of 738 registered New York City Democratic voters with a +/- 3.6 percent margin of error.