New York ( CNN ) -- Seeking redemption after a prostitution scandal waylaid his political career , former New York Gov . Eliot Spitzer launched a petition campaign Monday in a bid to become the comptroller of New York City . If he succeeds in getting on the ballot for the September primary , Spitzer will join former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner -- who is seeking the city 's Democratic mayoral nomination -- as disgraced New York politicians trying to revive their careers in the same election . `` Politics is a contact sport , '' Spitzer said Monday morning on radio 's `` The Bill Press Show . '' `` I made significant errors . I stood up , accepted responsibility , resigned . It 's now been five years , I hope the public will extend its forgiveness to me . '' The decision was somewhat sudden , with Spitzer telling CBS on Monday that he reached it over the weekend . Now he knows the tough questions will come . `` You need skin as thick as a rhinoceros , '' he said in the CBS interview . Spitzer joins the ranks of other politicians gambling on the forgiveness -- or fleeting memories -- of voters to resume their derailed careers . Spitzer to toss hat back in the political ring . Among them are former South Carolina Gov . Mark Sanford , who won a U.S. House seat in May four years after revealing an extramarital affair , and Weiner , who recently jumped into the race for New York mayor after resigning his House seat over sexual-tinged tweets . Spitzer , a Democrat , resigned in 2008 after revelations he spent thousands of dollars on prostitutes . Since stepping down , the Democrat has been a commentator for various news outlets , including CNN . `` I recognize the flaws that led to 2008 , '' Spitzer told CNN on Sunday night . In the Monday interviews that coincided with a campaign to gather the 3,750 signatures needed by Thursday to get on the primary ballot , Spitzer said his goal was to return to public service . `` I think anybody 's who 's been through what I have been through -- sure you want redemption , '' he told CBS . `` I do n't think this is the best way to get it . If that 's what I want , then I do n't think this is the path to it , but what I am seeking is service . ... The most satisfying thing for me ever is public service . '' A comptroller 's life . A comptroller oversees how an organization reports its finances . It will be a far cry for the 54-year-old former New York attorney general whose reputation as a scourge of white-collar crime propelled him to the governor 's office in 2006 . `` I have to win over not only Wall Street , but Main Street , and the record of my cases on Wall Street shows I understood the real problems , '' he said Sunday . Spitzer said he has his wife 's support as he jumps back into political life but does n't know if she 'll be joining him on the campaign trail . Asked Monday if they were separated , he said no . When politics gives you a second chance . Second chances . Politics is full of second chances . Just ask Sanford . His political career was left for dead when he disclosed -- after disappearing from the public eye for nearly a week in 2009 -- that he was having an affair with an Argentine woman . He told his staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail during his absence but eventually admitted he had been in Buenos Aires . He withstood an impeachment attempt in the South Carolina Legislature , but his wife divorced him . Cut to 2013 , when Sanford ran in a special election to fill a vacant U.S. House seat in South Carolina . He won the GOP primary and then defeated a Democratic challenger to return to Washington , where he previously was a congressman before becoming governor . Weiner hopes for a similarly successful comeback . He was in his seventh term in Congress representing parts of Brooklyn and Queens when he was caught sending lewd photos and messages to multiple women . At first he lied , claiming his Twitter account was hacked , but he later admitted to the indiscretions and left the House of Representatives . In May , Weiner announced he 'd be running for mayor of New York . Two surveys of voters released in late June indicate Weiner is basically tied in the battle for the Democratic mayoral nomination . Spitzer hopes for a similar reaction . `` I think it is a land of forgiveness , '' he told `` The Bill Press Show , '' adding that `` people in their natural goodness understand the fact that ... we sin , we pay a price and hopefully continue . '' Opinion : Zombie politicians find new life after disgrace . CNN 's Ashley Killough and Tom Cohen contributed to this report .
NEW : Eliot Spitzer and Anthony Weiner will wage their war in the same election . Spitzer says he 's asking for forgiveness and a second chance . He 's seeking the votes needed by Thursday to get on primary day . Spitzer resigned in 2008 in the wake of a sex scandal .