There have been some famous political comebacks in our nation’s history. Richard Nixon lost the presidential election in 1960 to John F. Kennedy, only to come back in 1968 and win the White House. Ronald Reagan lost the Republican primary to Gerald Ford in 1976, only to come back in 1980 and defeat Jimmy Carter decisively. And, of course, Donald Trump, after being ousted from office in 2020 and after dealing with non-stop lawsuits and bogus criminal charges, roared back in 2024 to a decisive presidential win.
When considering political comebacks, though, it’s a safe bet that Anthony Weiner wasn’t a name on your Bingo card. But the disgraced, sexting ex-husband of Huma Abedin is nevertheless trying for just such a comeback and is seeking a seat on the New York City Council.
Disgraced ex-lawmaker Anthony Weiner has popped back into the political spotlight Tuesday — formally filing to run for New York City Council.
The 60-year-old whose sexting scandal prompted an embarrassing exit from public office more than a decade ago, culminating in a criminal conviction and prison time for sexting a 15-year-old girl, has one eye fixated on the soon-to-be wide-open Council District 2 seat.
The post services a handful of neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan.
While Weiner tried to downplay his return as premature — telling The Post it is a “true exploratory committee” — he’s already lined up a speaking spot at a forum Thursday with Downtown Independent Democrats.
If you remember the scandal that then-Congressman Weiner was embroiled in in 2011, which forced his stepping down from the House of Representatives, you remember the headlines about Anthony Weiner and all of the plays on words with the former Congressman’s unfortunate surname; decorum prevents us from discussing them here, but at the link above to the New York Post story, you can see some examples.
The former Carlos Danger is serious about re-entering politics:
Weiner registered his political committee, Weiner 25, with the Campaign Finance Board Friday, and later filed for the 2nd District spot.
The seat is currently held by Carlina Rivera, who is term-limited and will be out come the end of 2025. Other candidates have also put their hand up for the job — Sarah Batchu, Harvey D Epstein, Andrea Gordillo, Jason Murillo and Allison Ryan.
This would be far from the strangest thing to come from New York City.
See Related: Huma Abedin Reveals Who She’s Seeing on Valentine’s Date in Paris, and It’s a Name You’ve Heard Before
Watch: Anthony Weiner Thought It Would Be a Good Idea to Pimp His New Show on ‘Hannity’ — It Wasn’t
Listen, everyone’s entitled to take a shot at redemption. I wouldn’t vote for Anthony Weiner, but then I wouldn’t live in New York City, either; I’ve seen that city for myself and would rather have my tongue nailed to a wagon wheel every morning before breakfast than to live in that giant ant-heap. But, as my grandfather said, every cat its own rat, and clearly, lots of people like life in the Big Apple. And lots of those people vote.
With that said, Anthony Weiner has paid his debt to his society, and we can hope he’s learned his lesson and is keeping his… business to himself these days. As long as he meets all the requirements that the City of New York has placed on candidates for the position, he’s entitled to take his shot at redemption, just like anyone else.
But boy, howdy, do his past actions ever give his political opponents plenty to work with.
