Following Anthony Weiner's resignation, David Weprin earned the nod of approval to replace Weiner's seat in Congress. He will run for the Democratic Party in the special election scheduled for September 13th. Weprin is a current New York Assemblyman who formerly served as a member of the New York City council. Last year, he was elected to the state Assembly but failed in his campaign for city comptroller in 2009 (Carnia). .
"It is expected that David Weprin will be unanimously supported by the Democratic parties of Brooklyn and Queens," said Evan Stavisky (Koplowitz). .
Weprin will meet with Queens Democrats on July 7th to file paperwork announcing him as the Party's official pick. Weprin earned the candidacy because he was viewed as the "most loyal" to the local party, according to Capital Tonight. Weprin was chosen from a strong pool of politicians, including Assemblyman Rory Lancman and former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (Taylor). .
Lancman tweeted, "Congrats to our next congressman, David Weprin. It was an honor to have been considered. On to a big Democratic victory on Sept. 13" (Koplowitz). .
The Republican Party has not announced a nominee as of now, but they may not need to. The New York's 9th Congressional District, which Weiner represented for the past 13 years, covers Brooklyn and Queens. However, the New York lawmakers are trying to eliminate the district during their redistricting process to cut down two congressional seats due to population losses. The winner of the special election winner will serve out the remainder of Weiner's term, which ends in January 2013 (Carnia). Weprin could run for a full term afterwards, but he is unlikely to beat out Crowley, who is predicted to take in most of the district. Instead, experts believe he may use the short stint to launch another campaign for city comptroller in 2013 (Taylor). .
Although GOP Chairman Philip Ragusa reported that his party has not picked a nominee yet, TV executive Bob Turner is the current frontrunner.
