The race for Anthony's Weiner's old seat in Queens' solidly Democratic Ninth District has given voters a somewhat crappy choice in Tuesday's special election. Neither candidate knows much about their district, and while Republican candidate Bob Turner has indiscriminately picked up endorsements from Donald Trump, Ed Koch, and Rudy Giuliani, while mostly keeping his mouth shut, Democrat David Weprin has released an idiotic 9/11-invoking ad, stupidly cancelled a debate, and is hoping a video of him dancing in 2009 will make him seem less like a wet Saltine to voters. As of yesterday, Turner is up by six percentage points.
Turner's camp is so confident, they sent an email blast today comparing President Obama's rumored stumping for Weprin to his last-ditch campaigning for failed Massachusetts senatorial candidate Martha Coakley. But David Weprin's brother, City Councilman Mark Weprin, is somewhat more optimistic, telling the Times that his brother has "a much more motivated volunteer base…who votes is going to decide this race." Weprin adds, "Look, you always like to be ahead in the polls. But this is not a typical race."
Though some have viewed the race as a referendum on Obama, equally to blame for Weprin's failure to hold onto a solidly Democratic base has been a lackluster campaign. "Weprin has lost the campaign," a Democratic strategist says, "Now it's about who wins the turnout." And with a $1 million barrage of ads and a "formidable get-out-the-vote operation," Weprin certainly still has a chance. Look for him to leak his appearance on MTV Grind tomorrow.
