On Monday, the Eliot Spitzer campaign announced it had hired Lis Smith, former Director of Rapid Response for Obama’s reelection, as a spokesperson. It is the second Obama campaign veteran Spitzer has hired for his political comeback race for NYC Comptroller. Sources have told Breitbart News the staffing up of PR specialists is due to growing rumors that Spitzer is engaged in an affair with a married woman.
Spitzer was forced to resign as Governor of the Empire State after revelations surfaced that he was a frequent client of a high-end prostitution network. His recently announced run for city Comptroller was meant to be his political comeback, assuming an office that would have wide discretion over the city’s pension fund investments with Wall Street firms.
The rapidly deflating fortunes of Anthony Weiner’s mayoral candidacy and new rumors that Spitzer has been caring on an illicit affair with a married woman, however, threaten his comeback. One person with first hand knowledge of the impending Spitzer scandal told Breitbart news, “While the New York Post has reported that Silda [Spitzer’s wife] will be filing divorce after the general, now with Weiner’s sinking implosion and attention turned to Spitzer, Silda may very well be able to serve Elliot the papers the day after he loses the primary.”
“I hope Elliot rolls up his black socks, it is going to be a bumpy ride.”
Spitzer’s chief opponent in the race is Manhattan Burough President Scott Stringer. Stringer passed on the Mayor’s race to run for Comptroller in a deal reportedly brokered by US Rep. Jerry Nadler. Recent polling has shown Stringer narrowly trailing the better-known Spitzer.
“The Quinnipiac poll, which has a long track record of accuracy in New York races, is great news for Scott Stringer,” New York political consultant Sam Nunberg told Breitbart News. “With the Spitzer media onslaught, he only maintains a small edge.”
“Scott is well-known in New York and his base of support is much more likely not only to continue to increase but most importantly turn out on primary day,” Nunberg added. “Plus, he has a long track record with the unions. Elliot’s campaign narrative is also short sighted. His first set of campaign TV ads was the mea culpa. But Scott is also well-financed and will be able to saturate TV and radio with contrast ads reminding all primary voters of Spitzer’s hypocritical malfeasance.”
Spitzer’s hiring of Lis Smith is a clear sign he expects the campaign to get very rocky ahead of the September primary. She is famous for aggressively challenging negative news stories about her candidates. Forbes Magazine reported last year:
The Obama campaign’s director of rapid response, Lis Smith, is not afraid to take the gloves off on Twitter. She uses her feed to, well, rapidly respond to the news. Smith also gets points for interacting. She often mentions others in her tweets and sometimes gets into multiple tweet disputes with people she disagrees with, which are always fun to watch.
There are other curious aspects to Spitzer’s hiring of Smith. There is a certain element of simpatico. We will leave that discussion for another day.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.