Weiner may not be roasted just yet.
Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner spent $106,500 this month on two polls, apparently to test the possibility of staging what would be a stunning political comeback, according to campaign filings yesterday.
“When you spend $50,000 on a poll, that’s the real thing,” said one political insider. “You’re getting everything you can find out from voters. This guy spent a hundred grand.”
Since shelling out the money on March 4 and 5 to San Francisco-based David Binder Research, Weiner has made no public move to enter the race for either mayor or comptroller, two offices mentioned in his polls.
“If someone is thinking about running and doesn’t run, it shows the polls are not favorable,” said a veteran political consultant. “No one boycotts an election they think they can win.”
The Brooklyn congressman was considered a leading contender in the 2013 mayoral race before he quit politics in June 2011, when his racy texts to women on the Internet surfaced.
Public polls show voters still view him negatively, with just months to go before petitioning starts for this year’s city elections.
If Weiner is looking for an obvious opening, the race for comptroller has only a single candidate as of now, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
“Stringer would crush him,” one Democrat said.
Weiner raised his public profile after Superstorm Sandy, visiting his old district in the Rockaways to help with cleanup and to publicize the plight of his former constituents.
He declined to comment on his campaign spending.
“Nothing to report beyond what I reported,” he said.
One source said Weiner is running a consulting business, which may explain why a $3,500-a-month office in Midtown still turns up in his campaign filings.
With $4.3 million left in his campaign account, Weiner could jump into just about any race up to the last minute.