The polls found that 23 percent said Spitzer's behavior disqualifies him as a candidate. NYC poll: 56 percent pick Spitzer

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is pulling further ahead in the Democratic primary for the city’s comptroller race, a new poll finds.

Spitzer’s lead over Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has widened to 19 percentage points among likely Democratic primary voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. Fifty six percent said they will vote for Spitzer, compared with 37 percent for Stringer. On July 25, Spitzer was edging out Stringer by just 4 percentage points.


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Spitzer was favored across a range of demographics, including male, female and black voters, with leads of 21, 18 and 47 percentage points, respectively. Stringer, however, was more popular with white voters, leading Spitzer by 10 points.

“Spitzer is all over the TV screens, building on his better name recognition and leaving Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in the dust,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The poll also addressed Spitzer’s prostitution scandal. Although 23 percent said this behavior disqualifies him as a candidate, 44 percent said it is a factor but did not disqualify him and 32 percent said it is not a factor.

( PHOTOS: Scandal pols: Where are they now?)

The poll of 579 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted Aug. 7-12 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

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