Special Election Set To Fill Weiner’s Congressional Seat

A special election to fill the New York congressional seat of disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner will be held on Sept. 13, the New York Times reported Friday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo set the date for the vote in the district, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens and has a large Jewish population.

Holding a special election means party leaders will choose candidates for the election in the predominantly Democratic district, avoiding primary votes.

Among the names floated as potential Democratic candidates for the seat are Queens assemblymen Rory I. Lancman and David Weprin, along with former City Council member Melinda Katz.

There will be no other major races on the ballot, meaning turnout would be expected to be extremely light.

Whoever wins the seat may have little time to enjoy it. Many analysts believe the Ninth District could be chopped up when New York loses two congressional seats to redistricting before the 2012 elections.

Weiner resigned last month amid a firestorm of negative publicity over his penchant for texting racy photos.