New polls have mixed messages for scandal-tarred ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s comeback campaign for New York City comptroller.

One poll released Thursday shows him roughly even with Democratic rival Scott Stringer among likely Democratic voters. But another finds Spitzer leads Stringer, who’s the Manhattan borough president.

A Quinnipiac University poll finds 49 percent of likely Democratic primary voters picking Spitzer, and 45 percent going for Stringer. The difference is within the poll’s 4.4-percentage-point margin of error.

An NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released Thursday also surveyed likely Democratic primary voters. It showed they favor Spitzer over Stringer by 48 percent to 36 percent.

That poll’s margin of error is 5.5 percentage points.

Quinnipiac surveyed 507 Democratic likely primary voters. The other poll contacted 320 of them.

(AP)