As more Democrats call upon Congressman Anthony Weiner, New York Democrat, to resign from his seat on Capitol Hill, the New York liberal is learning that occupying a Congressional district that is politically safe in his Party’s corner can also be harmful.
A recent NY1-Marist poll released on June 7 showed that only 31 percent of New York City voters believe that Rep. Weiner should resign from office, while 51 percent thought he should stay put. There was no indication as to which voters in the poll resided in Mr. Weiner’s 9th Congressional District. it is easy to look at this reaction from liberal New York and sarcastically roll one’s eyes and say, “shocker.”
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However, it should be noted that while residents in the Big Apple are more likely to vote for Democrats as their congressmen, there is no real loyalty towards Anthony Weiner either only towards the Democratic Party, when it comes to congressional elections.
The same poll shows that 56 percent of New Yorkers do not want him running for mayor in 2013. Even before the online sexting scandal happened, he was leading other Democratic leaders in New York mayoral polls by only three to four points.
At this point, Democrats on Capitol Hill do not want the 24 hour news cycle dominated by the Anthony Weiner story. Democrats both in New York and in Washington need their messaging for their 2012 campaigns and the president’s campaign to be clear about the economy, jobs, health care, medicare, and the various wars the U.S. continues to engage in. A distraction like Mr. Weiner’s problem is far from helpful for them.
Capitol Hill Democrats know very well Mr. Weiner’s constituents will not bolt over to a Republican candidate as a result of Mr. Weiner’s mis-deeds, but the overwhelming district of Democrats will continue to vote for the Party.
The voter registrations and past election numbers just do not make it a realistic possibility for the GOP to breakout in New York’s CD-9 right now. This is probably why a New York City Democrats are reportedly floating former New York City Councilman Eric Gioia to run for Mr. Weiner’s seat in 2012.
Congressman Weiner learned the difficult way that representing his constituents was never about him a safe political seat is not always a good thing.
