Rob Ford scandal: Does this mean he's done?

As Rob Ford takes a break from the Toronto mayoralty race amid new revelations about his substance abuse, some political watchers are wondering if they'll amount to anend to his re-election bid.

• Live blog: The latest Rob Ford news as it happens
• 'Rob Ford must resign': City councillors react to latest tapes
• What Ford allegedly said in recent recordings
• Rob Ford's full statement on seeking help

On Wednesday, Ford announced he would take a leave of absence from the campaign and his duties as mayor after two new recordings surfaced.

The Toronto Sun reported late Wednesday it hadobtained a new and "raunchy" audio recording of Ford "ranting and swearing" in a Toronto-area bar on Monday night.

The Globe and Mail claims to have seen a second video, shot last weekend, of Ford smoking what a source told the paper was crack cocaine.

Ford issued a statementsaying he was taking a break from his duties and efforts for re-election in the Oct. 27 municipal vote,to seek professional help, admitting he has struggled with an alcohol problem "for some time."

It's the latest in ascandalous year for Ford,who has been at the centre of alcohol and drugabuse allegations, lewd comments and his repeated promises that his bad behaviour is behind him.

Does this amount to a death blow?

Jamie Watt, chair of public relations firm Navigator, was on CBC Radio's Metro Morningon Thursday and said most politicians in Ford's situation would have "pulled the duvet over their head" and resigned, possibly never to return. But with Ford, it's not so straightforward.

"The question is, is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?" said Watt. "To step out in the middle of the campaign is going to be very challenging."

Watt said stepping aside now is "the right decision" though he says he would have advised Ford to take a break and get help last spring, when the crack scandal first broke. That would have given him time to do a proper stint in rehab and spin a plausible comeback story before the mayoralty campaign got underway.

Another problem is that Ford has a history of vowingto reverse his bad behaviour, but the latest revelations appear to be "more of the same," said Watt.

"He said he got his problems under control, but obviously that wasn't true.At some point, people are going to say 'enough is enough.'"

Hamutal Dotan, who writes about city hall issues for Torontoist, said she believes there's a chance Ford couldrebound.

"He's survived so many scandals that other people would not have," she said on Metro Morning.

However,Dotan also points out that in Ford's statement, he admits to a problem with alcohol, but not drugs.

"There's still a gap between what everyone is saying about his behaviour and his response to it," she said.

Globe and Mail reporter Robyn Doolittle also spoke about the latest Ford news when she wason Metro Morningon Thursday.

Doolittle, whose bookdocuments the year-long Ford scandal, said she believes much of Ford's core support won't be shaken by today's news.

"There is this bedrock of Ford support that is somewhere between 20 and 25 per cent that will not move, nomatter what," she said. "There's not a lot of time left in this election to overcome something like this."