Nearly eight months after John Mulaney and Saturday Night Live turned him into a punchline, Harvey Epstein appears to be having the last laugh.
The real-life New York State Assemblyman—who was played by Mulaney on SNL—is now leading the Democratic primary for City Council District 2, based on first-round results from Tuesday’s election. Epstein currently holds 39% of the vote—nearly twice as much as any of the other four candidates in the race.
It’s not over yet. Because of New York City’s ranked-choice voting system, final results won’t be tallied for another week. But with a lead that commanding, Epstein is in strong position to win the seat outright once second- and third-choice preferences are redistributed.
His surprise name recognition boost came last November, when SNL ran a fake campaign ad for Epstein’s City Council bid. “I’m not going to lie,” Mulaney-as-Epstein confessed in the sketch. “The name thing has become a bit of an issue. ‘Harvey’ I could almost handle. But ‘Epstein’—this thing is an albatross.” Mulaney’s character, of course, was acknowledging the obvious: he happens to share a full name with both Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein. “Look, is my name ideal? Of course not,” he said. “But thankfully I’m a different guy.”
The real Epstein, watching from home, was shocked but amused. “Funny, well-executed, and a little freaky,” he later told reporters.
Still, Epstein wasn’t the only candidate in the race with a loaded name. Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, attempting a political comeback, finished a distant fourth with just 10% of first-round votes. That leaves Epstein as the clear frontrunner heading into next week’s final tabulations.
If the trend holds—and he goes on to win November’s general election—Harvey Epstein may have John Mulaney and SNL to thank for it.
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