Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Weiner Says He Could Have Been Winner
By
Ben Muessig
Published Nov 11, 2009
Modified Nov 11, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Muessig
Published Nov 11, 2009
Modified Nov 11, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A week after Mayor Bloomberg's narrower-than-expected victory, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens) has come out of the woodwork claiming that he could have defeated the incumbent. The Congressman — who abandoned his short-lived Mayoral campaign in May — claims that in order to win, Bloomberg would have needed to spend at least $150 million (about $50 million more than the Mayor's record-breaking campaign expenditures).
"They were afraid of me," said Weiner, who is known as a defender of supermodels, an avid hockey player, and a former roommate of The Daily Show's Jon Stewart. "I saw a way to beat Mike Bloomberg, but it was a narrow path."
Weiner told the Times that he dropped out of the Mayoral race to focus on healthcare. If he had continued to run a "full-fledged, full-throated Weiner-style campaign,” he claims that Bloomberg would have attacked him every time he missed a hearing or a vote. “I would have to absent myself from my Washington responsibilities, which were really big and would have been really noticeable if I had not done them,” said Weiner, who was one Congress' most vocal advocates for a public option. "If I had sat here in D.C., not gotten much done or moved the ball on what I said I would, maybe I would say my time was better spent becoming mayor."
That said, skeptics think Weiner bailed out over concerns that after his second-place finish in the 2005 Democratic primary, a Mayoral loss "would be devastating to his ambitions." But in the wake of Democratic challenger Bill Thompson's better-than-anticipated showing, many Democrats continue to wonder what would have happened if Weiner — who is already being named as a frontrunner in the 2013 race — hadn't dropped out.
Tagged
anthony weiner
bloomberg
campaign
Politics
woulda coulda shoulda
Ben Muessig
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NJ early voting begins Saturday. Here's everything you need to know.
Our 2026 New Jersey voter’s guide for this year’s midterm elections.
By
Mike Hayes
Published Oct 23, 2026 at 11:01 a.m. ET
Countdown clocks are coming to an NYC bus stop near you
New York City bus service isn't exactly reliable, but new digital countdown clocks will give riders a better sense of how long they have to wait.
By
Stephen Nessen
News
Countdown clocks are coming to an NYC bus stop near you
New York City bus service isn't exactly reliable, but new digital countdown clocks will give riders a better sense of how long they have to wait.
By
Stephen Nessen
Are NJ schools unconstitutionally segregated? It's back to the courts to decide.
By
Colleen O'Dea
Early Addition: New Jersey considering a ban on chewing gum because of microplastics
By
James Ramsay
Queens mother charged with murdering her son after failed suicide attempt, NYPD says
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .