Anthony Weiner far behind in NYC council primary with race to be decided by ranked choice count

NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is trailing badly in the Democratic primary for a New York City Council seat as the race moves to a ranked choice vote count to decide the winner.

Initial returns Tuesday showed Weiner running in a distant fourth place in the five-person race for a council district in Manhattan.

Weiner had entered the race in the hopes of restarting his political career after it was derailed by sexting scandals. He was eventually sent to prison for sending sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl.

Among those running ahead of him is Harvey Epstein, a state lawmaker whose name inspired a “Saturday Night Live” bit over its unfortunate closeness to convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. Also vying for the seat are Sarah Batchu, the leader of a local non-profit, and Andrea Gordillo, who chairs the local community board.

Weiner had been a strong Democratic voice in Congress before his political star plummeted in 2011 after he sent a lewd picture of himself to a college student on Twitter. He resigned from Congress, tried a comeback by running for New York City mayor, then got caught up in another sexting scandal. In 2017, prosecutors said he had illicit online contact with a high school student. Weiner pleaded guilty to transferring obscene material to a minor.

During the campaign, Weiner did not shy away from his past scandal, but told The Associated Press in an interview that he struggled with how best to address what he had done when talking to voters.

The winner of the City Council race will be determined in a ranked choice tabulation that begins on July 1. The candidates with the least support will be eliminated in rounds and votes cast for them will be redistributed to the remaining candidates, based on voter preference.