It’s most assuredly true that the consequences of sex scandals ain’t what they used to be — and the latest proof is this: disgraced and resigned New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer has leap-frogged to the top in the poll for the New York City Comptroller spot:
Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer leads Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer by nine percentage points in the race for New York City comptroller, according to a Wall Street Journal-NBC 4 New York-Marist poll.
Among registered Democrats, including those who are undecided but leaning toward a candidate, Mr. Spitzer outpaces Mr. Stringer 42% to 33% in the Democratic primary, the poll showed. Nearly a quarter of voters were undecided on the nascent contest, but two-thirds of Democrats, or 67%, said they believe Mr. Spitzer, who resigned as governor five years ago after he was caught patronizing prostitutes, should be given a second chance.
Mr. Spitzer, a former two-term attorney general, jolted the city’s political world when he announced on Sunday that he would launch an 11th-hour campaign to collect the 3,750 signatures he needs by Thursday night to secure a place on the Sept. 10 primary ballot. For months, it appeared as if Mr. Stringer would be uncontested in the primary.
“People want to give [Mr. Spitzer] a second chance. A plurality think he’s changed, they think he would make a good comptroller and they don’t think the sex scandal matters all that much in deciding their vote,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
Mr. Miringoff said Mr. Spitzer has high negative ratings and questioned whether he can continue to build on his lead.
Meanwhile, in the race for NYC Mayor, former Rep. Anthony Weiner, the country’s most famous practioner of the art of sexting, has been making progress. Polls have shown Weiner is rising.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.