(The Center Square) — Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa is rejecting demands to abandon his bid for City Hall amid increasing calls for him to drop out of the three-way race.
The New York Post editorial board on Monday led the calls for Sliwa to drop out, citing recent polling showing that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo would be within striking distance of defeating Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in a two-way race.
“It burns to write this, but: It’s time for Curtis Sliwa to face reality, and admit that the city’s best hope to avoid the disaster of a Zohran Mamdani mayoralty is for him to drop out of the race,” the Post board wrote. “The simple fact is that the Republican nominee is far back in third place in every poll, with zero chance of winning. It stinks, but for the sake of the city you love so deeply, Curtis, please swallow this bitter pill.”
Conservative radio station owner John Catsimatidis joined the calls Monday for Sliwa to end his campaign ahead of the election to bolster Cuomo’s chances of defeating frontrunner Mamdani. He said New York City’s business community is deeply worried at the prospect of a socialist mayor who has pledged to tax the city’s top earners to pay for implementing his agenda.
“Curtis has to realize that he should love New York more than anything else,” said WABC Radio owner John Catsimatidis. “And it certainly looks like Curtis should pull out right now. We cannot take a chance. We cannot take a chance on Zohran winning.”
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman also chimed in on the contentious mayoral race, urging Sliwa to drop his bid to give Cuomo “a better shot.”
But a defiant Sliwa said he has no intention of dropping out of the race, with early voting set to get underway this Saturday.
““The billionaires can conspire to pick their candidate. I trust the people. They’ll make the decision,” the Guardian Angels founder told reporters Monday. “I have support. I have 11 headquarters. I have volunteers everywhere. Signs galore. I’m not dropping out.”
Sliwa later unleashed a blistering attack on Cuomo and demanded that the “disgraced” former governor ditch his campaign. He accused Cuomo of “creating the socialist takeover that has plunged New York City into chaos.”
“Cuomo created this socialist nightmare,” Sliwa said in a statement. “He defunded the police, shuttered Rikers, and signed a no-cash bail into law, leaving our streets a war zone. Now he’s slinking back, pretending to be our savior? New Yorkers won’t fall for it.”
Speaking to Catsimatidis’ WABC 770 AM radio show on Sunday, Cuomo said Sliwa “has no chance of winning the race” and that a vote for his Republican rival “is really a vote for Zohran Mamdani”
“The problem is, Curtis Sliwa is a spoiler in the race,” Cuomo said. “There’s no poll that shows him close. He cannot win, put aside the fact that does not have the background, the credibility or the qualifications. He just can’t win.”
Mamdani stopped short of urging Sliwa to stay in the race but chimed in on the criticism of billionaires trying to influence the outcome of New York City election.
“My advice to him is to continue to make his own case,” Mamdani said. “You know, I’m focused on making my case to New Yorkers, but I do think that to have a candidate spending all of his time pleading with another candidate to get out, it shows that he doesn’t have much to share with New Yorkers, himself.”
