Poll: New Yorkers not crazy about Weiner run for mayor

(CNN) — Nearly half of New York City voters don’t think Anthony Weiner should run for mayor this year, according to a new poll.

But according to the Quinnipiac University poll, Weiner, who announced his candidacy for mayor early Wednesday morning, is in second place in the battle for the city’s Democratic nomination.

The congressman, who was in his seventh term representing parts of the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn, resigned from the House in 2011 amid scandal over lewd photos sent via Twitter. He’s now seeking political redemption by making his third bid for mayor.

And Weiner’s announcement comes just two weeks after another politician whose career was left for dead following an infamous affair, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, made a huge comeback by winning a special election to fill a vacant congressional seat.

According to the poll, which was conducted in the week before Weiner’s announcement, 49% of New York City voters said Weiner should not run for mayor, with 38% saying he should make a bid and 12% unsure. The 49% figure is up five percentage points from a Quinnipiac poll conducted in mid-April. The survey indicates Democratic voters are divided, with 41% saying Weiner should run and 44% disagreeing.

Weiner’s entry into the race finds him in the second spot for his party’s nomination, according to the poll, with 15% of registered Democrats saying they would vote for Weiner if the primary were held today. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn remains in the top spot, at 25%. Quinn has long been the Democratic front-runner in the race, and if she’s elected in the November general election, she’ll become Gotham’s first female and first openly gay mayor.

“With former Congressman Anthony Weiner seeking the Democratic nod, it still looks like Council Speaker Christine Quinn against the guys,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement hours prior to Weiner’s announcement.

“But where she once was brushing up against the magic 40% number that could get her past a run-off, the wear and tear of the campaign, and possibly the addition of Weiner, are taking a toll on the front-runner,” Carroll added.

The other Democratic candidates are at 10% or less in the survey, with more than a quarter of voters undecided. The poll also indicates that at this stage in the campaign, the eventual Democratic nominee would be the front-runner in the November election.

The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted May 14-20, with 1,802 New York City voters, including 701 registered Democrats, questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points, with a plus or minus 3.7 percentage points for Democratic primary questions.