The first major public poll that should reflect some of the impact of Anthony Weiner’s latest sexting scandal is scheduled to come out Thursday at noon. Marist College announced on Wednesday afternoon that it will be releasing new numbers “on whether or not New York City Democrats want Anthony Weiner to drop out of the race for mayor” and “other aspects of the 2013 mayoralty contest” in conjunction with NBC 4 New York and the Wall Street Journal.
Separately, Quinnipiac is scheduled to release a New York City mayoral poll Wednesday at 4PM, however a Quinnipiac spokesman told TPM that poll was conducted from July 18 “through last night,” so it won’t necessarily reflect Weiner’s scandal, which led the newscast’s yesterday evening.
Thursday’s Marist/NBC/WSJ poll should give at least some indication as to whether Weiner’s standing has been affected by the new revelations about his digital dalliances. Prior to the latest scandal, Weiner was leading in some recent polls and was seen by many insiders as one of the top contenders in the race.
Weiner’s latest sexting scandal will probably hurt his numbers, but it may not be time to count him out. Before Weiner entered the race in May, many experts and insiders assumed his 2011 Twitter scandal would prevent him from being a viable candidate. Weiner defied those initial doubters and the strong numbers he has enjoyed in the race up until this point seemed to be fueled by the high name recognition he earned through his scandalous past.
The real question is whether the bad boy celebrity status that has led to Weiner’s strong poll numbers so far will actually translate to support on primary day in September.
