(Updated 6:50 p.m. EDT)
Democrat Anthony Weiner's path to the New York City mayor's office got a lot more complicated Thursday, just two days after he asserted that new revelations of his lewd online conduct would not chase him from the race for his party's nomination.
A day that opened with a new poll showing his support and approval rating among New York Democrats plummeting since the new scandal emerged got progressively worse for the married Weiner, who resigned from Congress after similar online sexual conduct was revealed.
For the first time Thursday, Weiner — when pressed by reporters — admitted that he engaged in several online sexting relationships after he left Congress two years ago. On Tuesday, Weiner had addressed only one post-Congress online relationship.
Also Thursday, Weiner was excoriated by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker who was his Democratic colleague in Congress. She characterized his behavior, and that of Democrat Bob Filner, mayor of San Diego, as "reprehensible."
And she urged Weiner and Filner, accused by three women of sexual misconduct, to " get a clue."
"It is so disrespectful of women, and what's really stunning about it is they don't even realize it. You know, they don't have a clue," she said. "If they need therapy, do it in private."
Asked whether Weiner should drop out of the race, Pelosi said: "That's up to the people of New York."
And, later Thursday, Sydney Leathers, the young Indiana woman with whom Weiner began exchanging sexually explicit online messages months after he left Congress, told the television show Inside Edition that he was trying to fool voters into believing his lewd behavior was in his past.
In interview clips, Leathers said she "felt manipulated" by Weiner and that he had become "controlling" toward the end of their online liaison.
"He would tell me that he would be jealous," Leathers told Inside Edition. "He would look at my Facebook frequently. He would tell me that he would get jealous if other men would compliment me. Just little stuff like that."
Weiner, she said, once described himself to her as an "argumentative, perpetually horny middle-aged man."
"And at the time, I was like, 'Oh no, you're not.' But yes, he is," she said.
Thursday's head-spinning developments began with survey results showing his standing with New York City's Democratic voters, who will go to the polls in September to pick a mayoral nominee, taking a deep dive.
Weiner now is the mayoral primary pick of 16 percent of the city's registered Democratic voters. That's down from the 25 percent who put him at the top of the seven-candidate field last month.
The Marist Poll, the first survey undertaken since the new details emerged early this week, was conducted for NBC 4 New York and The Wall Street Journal.
(Original post below)
New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner's standing with voters has plummeted since new revelations about his lewd online exchanges emerged this week, according to a survey released Thursday.
Weiner, who two years ago resigned from Congress after similar behavior became public, now is the mayoral primary pick of 16 percent of the city's registered Democratic voters, who will go to the polls in September.
That's down from the 25 percent who put him at the top of the seven-candidate field last month.
The Marist Poll, the first survey undertaken since the new details emerged early this week, was conducted for NBC 4 New York and The Wall Street Journal.
Results show Weiner is now running 10 percentage points behind City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who in last month's Marist Poll trailed the former congressman by 5 percentage points. He's polling just 2 percentage points ahead of the city's public advocate Bill de Blasio and City Comptroller Bill Thompson, who last month were trailing him by 15 and 12 percentage points, respectively.
Weiner's negative rating has also soared, the survey found. Fifty-five percent of voters told surveyors that they had an unfavorable view of the 48-year-old former congressman, up from a 36 percent unfavorable rating last month.
"New York City Democrats were willing to give Anthony Weiner a second chance but are reluctant to excuse his behavior now," Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said in a prepared statement.
Weiner during a Tuesday press conference declared his intent to stay in the race despite new evidence that he engaged in lewd online exchanges with a 23-year-old Indiana woman months after he left Congress.
His wife, Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, stood with him at the press conference, and delivered comments of support.
But Weiner's footing remained unsteady Thursday after he conceded at a Brooklyn news conference that he had inappropriate online communications with as many as three women after he resigned from Congress. He put the total number of lewd conversations he engaged in at between six and 10.
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