Eliot Laurence Spitzer is a lawyer, politician and now former Governor of New York. Spitzer was elected governor in November 2006.
He is the former New York State Attorney General, member of the Democratic Party, and is married to Silda Wall Spitzer, the founder and chair of Children for Children, a non-profit organization. He and Silda have three daughters, Elyssa, Sarabeth, and Jenna.
Eliot Spitzer was raised in the affluent Riverdale section of The Bronx. He attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, then graduated from to Harvard Law School.
Spitzer worked in the Manhattan District Attorney's office but left in 1992 to pursue a private practice. He ran unsuccessfully for New York's Attorney General position in 1994 but won the job in 1998, establishing a reputation as a staunch consumer advocate and waging war on white-collar crime across the state.
He soon became one of New York's most recognizable Democratic politicians, and was elected Governor of New York with 69 percent of the vote - having emerged as a candidate so strong that even three-term Gov. George Pataki declined to run against him.
After a rough first year as governor, in which he was tied to scandals and to several unpopular initiatives, Eliot Spitzer's political future came crumbling down after he was snared in a prostitution ring in February 2008.
Eliot Spitzer was caught having trysts with Ashley Alexandra Dupre, a young and very expensive call girl, after a federal investigation busted her employer, Emperors Club VIP. He resigned the office as of March 17, 2008.
NATIONAL[NOTE: Figures above are averages of the 3-6 most recent surveys in each area. Updated June 17]
