- Campaign manager’s departure is latest sign Weiner’s mayoral bid is struggling
- Weiner has acknowledged he didn’t stop having raunchy online chats after he left Congress
- Weiner said he couldn’t say for sure how many more women might come forward
Washington (CNN) — Days after Anthony Weiner admitted to lewd chats with women online, his campaign manager quit, Weiner and his campaign said Sunday.
Danny Kedem’s departure is the latest sign Weiner’s New York City mayoral bid is struggling amid allegations of online sexual impropriety. After the chats and photographs became public Tuesday, a poll showed him dropping to second place among Democratic candidates for mayor and his favorable numbers plummeting.
“Danny has left the campaign,” Weiner told CNN affiliate NY1. “He did a remarkable job.”
Praising the “excellent staff” remaining in his organization, Weiner said more volunteers had flocked to his bid in the last few days than at any point since his campaign began.
“This isn’t about the people working on the campaign, it’s about the people that we’re working for,” he said.
Weiner admits to new sexting
Could Weiner sexting hurt Clinton?
Kedem,a 31-year-old operative who previously worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, declined comment in an e-mail to CNN.
Weiner first acknowledged Tuesday that he did not stop sending raunchy online chats to women when he left Congress in 2011. That resignation was prompted by allegations from several women that Weiner had sent them lewd photographs of himself.
Speaking at a news conference Thursday, the Democrat said he couldn’t say for sure how many more women might come forward.
“There are a few. I don’t have a specific number for you,” Weiner said.
Pressed to provide a guess as to how many online relationships occurred after his resignation, Weiner said, “I don’t believe I had any more than three.”
He has resisted calls from his rivals to withdraw from the mayor’s race, saying the decision of whether he’s trustworthy enough for the job should be up to voters.
His chief rival for the Democratic nomination, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, stopped short of calling for his withdrawal from the mayor’s race Sunday but lambasted his actions as generating further distrust in government.
“I think it’s become very clear that former Congress member Weiner has a pattern of reckless behavior, an inability to tell the truth and a real lack of maturity and responsibility,” Quinn said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I don’t think he should be mayor, and I think voters, if he stays in the race, will make that very clear.”
On Friday, Weiner indicated he may stop answering questions altogether about his online relationships.
“There’s going to reach a point fairly soon that I’m going to say I think I’ve said enough about it, and I’m going to keep just talking about other things,” he told reporters on Staten Island.
CNN’s Chris Kokenes and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
Weiner campaign manager quits
No comments:
Post a Comment