NEW YORK—Following months of speculation, Anthony Weiner officially announced his candidacy for New York City mayor Wednesday, hoping the voters will look past his Twitter scandal from two years ago that cost him his seat in Congress.
“I don’t kid myself. I know that this is going to be a difficult slog, and I’m going to have to have a lot of difficult conversations with people along the way,” Weiner told an AP reporter by phone Wednesday.
“I think I have something to contribute. And I think that it’s up to New Yorkers to decide whether I get a second chance or not, and I hope the answer’s yes,” the Democrat added.
Weiner enters a crowded field of front-running Democrats, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, former City Comptroller Bill Thompson, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, all of whom have been campaigning for much of the year.
The move makes it even less likely one of them will hit 40 percent to win the primary, slated for Sept. 10. If no one hits 40 percent, a runoff would take place Sept. 24. The general election is Nov. 5.
The Board of Elections testified at a city council hearing that they would not have enough money for a runoff and would not have enough time to reprogram the voting machines in time for a runoff.
Weiner has $4.8 million in his campaign war chest and could receive $1.4 million in taxpayer-funded matching funds.
On Wednesday, Mayor Bloomberg, was asked how important character was for the person replacing him at Gracie Mansion, and he replied, “I don’t know if there is anything else that matters.”
Bloomberg said he knows who he is voting for already, but will not share.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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