When former disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner announced that he was going to be running for mayor of New York City more than a few experts thought Weiner didn't have a chance, if a recent poll and the first mayoral debate are indicators of things to come Weiner has a good chance to become the next mayor of New York City, according to The New York Times.
For the first time since announcing his candidacy at the 11th hour Weiner had consistently been behind Democratic front-runner City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, on Tuesday that changed for the first time as Weiner now has a five point lead over Quinn. 25 percent of registered Democrats told the poll, conducted by the Wall Street Journal, NBC New York and the Marist Poll, that they would vote for Weiner compared to 20 percent for Quinn, according to The New York Times.
More than anything else polls early in an election show the amount of name recognition a candidate has within an electorate, it's not surprising that Weiner is well known. Weiner was forced to resign from his position in Congress after it had been revealed that he had sent graphic photos of himself to multiple women on Twitter.
The spokeswoman for Weiner, Barbara Morgan, was excited about the news but said that it won't affect the way they are running their campaign.
"This won't change our focus one bit," Morgan said. "Anthony is going to keep talking about the issues and how to stand up for New Yorkers who want a middle-class fighter in City Hall."
Responding to the news that his candidate was now trailing in the race Mike Morey, spokesman for Quinn, told The New York Times that this was expected.
"We fully expect the polls to fluctuate throughout the campaign, but we are confident that on Election Day, when voters have to decide who they want to lead this city, they will choose someone who had demonstrated the ability to lead and deliver," Morey said.
It wasn't all bad news on Wednesday for Quinn either as the candidate was endorsed by one of the major labor union. Local 32 BJ of the Service Employees International Union has chosen to throw their support behind the City Council Speaker, according to The New York Times.
