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Anthony Weiner is considering a run for mayor of New York City, once again eyeing the job he was known to desire in his pre-scandal days as a congressman.

Weiner revealed his ambition to return to public life in a lengthy interview with the New York Times Magazine.

The former New York congressman said he doesn't have a "burning, overriding desire" to run for office, but is interested and does want to ask voters for a "second chance."

"It's not the single animating force in my life as it was for quite some time. But I do recognize, to some degree, it's now or maybe never for me, in terms of running for something," he said. "I'm trying to gauge not only what's right and what feels comfortable right this second, but I'm also thinking, How will I feel in a year or two years or five years? Is this the time that I should be doing it? And then there's the other side of the coin, which is . . . am I still the same person who I thought would make a good mayor?"

Weiner, one of the most prominent members of the House Democratic caucus who resigned in 2011 after sending lewd pictures of himself over Twitter, acknowledged that he's been testing the waters for a run. He told the New York Times Magazine his committee has dropped more than $100,000 on polling and research, as was previously shown in campaign finance reports.

Weiner said his pollster, keeping him grounded, is telling him he'd be the "underdog" in a race.

Weiner said: "I am a bit of a polarizing case."

Click for more from the New York Times Magazine.