Politics & Government

Two Democratic Mayoral Candidates Call for Weiner to Drop Out of Race

De Blasio and Albanese say congressman should leave race after allegations of sexually explicit online conversations in 2012 emerge.

Two of Anthony Weiner’s opponents in the Democratic mayoral primary are calling on the former U.S. Rep. to drop out of the race in light of his admission Tuesday that he continued to have sexual conversations online after leaving Congress.

Bill de Blasio and Sal Albanese, both of whom Weiner is competing against in September’s Democratic primary for mayor, have called on the former Queens congressman to exit the race.

“The sideshows of this election have gotten in the way of the debate we should be having about the future of this city,” de Blasio said.  “And yes, I’m talking about Anthony Weiner. Enough is enough. I’m calling on Anthony to withdraw from this race for the good of the city that I know he loves as much as all of us.”

Find out what's happening in Bayside-Douglastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Tuesday, an anonymous woman claimed on the gossip site TheDirty.com to have exchanged sexually explicit messages with Weiner in 2012. She also alleged that the congressman offered to get her a condo in Chicago where they could meet.

The woman also alleged that Weiner used the alias “Carlos Danger” during the exchanges.

Find out what's happening in Bayside-Douglastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Weiner said some of the allegations in the post were accurate during a press conference yesterday with his wife, Huma Abedin, who noted that her husband’s sexually charged online conversations were a thing of the past.

Weiner said he was moving forward with his campaign.

“There’s no question that what I did was wrong,” he told NY 1. “This behavior is behind me. I’ve apologized to my wife Huma and I’m grateful that she has worked through these issues with me and I have had her forgiveness.”

But Democratic mayoral candidate Sal Albanese joined de Blasio’s call for Weiner to drop out.

“From the moment he entered the race, I’ve said that Tony Weiner was unfit to serve as mayor of our great city,” Albanese said. “Today, that is clearer than ever. “I’m calling for Anthony Weiner to do right by New Yorkers and withdraw from the race.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Bayside-Douglaston