Anthony Weiner has exploded to first place in the mayor’s race, according to a poll released tonight.
In a stunning turn of events, the disgraced former congressman has suddenly become the frontrunner in the multi-candidate Democratic field, grabbing 25 percent of the vote and vaulting ahead of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who dropped to 20 percent in the WNBC-TV/Wall Street Journal survey.
Former Comptroller Bill Thompson was at 13 percent; Public Advocate Bill deBlasio held at 10 percent, and Comptroller John Liu brought up the rear of the major candidates with 8 percent.
According to the poll, New York voters are ready to forgive and forget — or at least to cast aside — the sexting antics that led Weiner to resign from Congress in 2011.
For the first time, his approval rating pivoted to positive territory — 52-35 percent.
Mike Morey, Quinn’s spokesman, brushed off the results.
“We fully expect the polls to fluctuate throughout the campaign, but we are confident that on Election Day when voters have to decide who they want to lead this city, they will choose someone who has demonstrated the ability to lead and deliver,” he said.
At her peak in February, Quinn led the Democratic pack at 37 percent.
The Weiner camp reacted to the remarkable turnaround with some standard campaign fare.
“This won’t change our focus one bit. Anthony is going to keep talking about the issues and how to stand up for New Yorkers who want a middle class fighter in City Hall,” Weiner spokeswoman Barbara Morgan said.
One city-based Democratic consultant who isn’t working for any mayoral candidate said the poll is no longer just about name recognition.
“Weiner is now showing that not only is he a name that people recognize, but he’s able to gain steam and move beyond his past scandals. And it appears to all be at the expense of Chris Quinn, who is sinking as fast as Weiner’s Congressional career collapsed,” the consultant said.
Another consultant unaffiliated with any campaign offered this advice:
“Chris and de Blasio are going to have to take the gloves off and go after Weiner. It’s pretty clear he ain’t gonna fall on his own weight.”
The Republican race for mayor, meanwhile, was wide open.
Former MTA chairman Joe Lhota was leading billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis 28-21 percent, with Doe Fund founder at 10 percent.
But 40 percent of GOP voters were undecided.
Additional reporting by Yoav Gonenand Beth DeFalco