Rep. Anthony Weiner told supporters last night that he’s officially pulling the plug on his mayoral campaign, according to Democratic sources.
“He is out for sure,” said an elected official.
In an op-ed piece appearing in today’s New York Times, Weiner explained that one reason for his decision is Mayor Bloomberg’s enormous war chest.
“In this case, a sports analogy is apt: If one football team has 110 players on the field, the team with 11 has a hard time getting through the blocking and tackling on the crowded turf,” Weiner wrote. In fact, he has raised $5.2 million — more than his chief Democratic rival, Comptroller Bill Thompson.
Weiner stunned the political world in March by suddenly pulling over to the sidelines, leaving the Democratic field to Thompson and long-shot City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Queens).
In the interim, The Post disclosed that Weiner accepted questionable donations from models that were later returned and that he stayed in town to play hockey at least one night, missing congressional votes.
Leaders of the Democratic Party in each borough this week bypassed Weiner to endorse Thompson.
Weiner’s Democratic colleague, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-LI)/ crossed party lines yesterday to back Bloomberg. Sources said some supporters counseled Weiner to wait for a vacancy at City Hall in 2013, a scenario that assumes Thompson doesn’t defeat Bloomberg in an upset.