As he scrambles to assemble a winning coalition, independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday he’d be willing to offer his Republican opponent, Curtis Sliwa, a job as an incentive for him to exit the race for City Hall.
“I haven’t even thought about it to tell you the truth, but, yes, that would be something that I am interested in,” Cuomo said on conservative talk radio host Sid Rosenberg’s show when asked if he’d consider giving Sliwa a job in his potential mayoral administration in exchange for a commitment from Sliwa to end his mayoral campaign.
“We need a coalition to run this city,” the former governor added. “We need New Yorkers to come together.”
The comments mark the latest wrinkle amid efforts to push Sliwa out of the race in hopes it’d increase Cuomo’s chances of beating Democratic mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani in the Nov. 4 election. Polls show Cuomo’s best shot at winning is a two-man race.
Cuomo didn’t elaborate on what sort of job he could give Sliwa if he wins the Nov. 4 election. A spokesman for the ex-gov didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Sliwa poo-pooed the idea outright and pledged — as he has repeatedly — to stay in the mayoral race.
“The only job I’m interested in is being the next mayor of the City of New York,” Sliwa said. “Andrew Cuomo clearly isn’t interested in earning that job; instead of campaigning and asking voters for their support, he keeps pumping out manufactured narratives to gaslight the public.”
On Monday evening, Cuomo offered a differrent response when asked during an appearance at a synagogue in Manhattan if he’d consider giving Sliwa a job in exchange for a campaign suspension. “I would call him the grand poobah,” Cuomo joked dismissively before adding that “this is beyond all that” and calling it “unfortunate” Sliwa’s “using this moment for his own public relations.”
Early voting starts this Saturday, and Sliwa’s name will remain on the Nov. 4 mayoral ballot no matter what.
Still, several power-players of New York GOP politics, including billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, have in recent days also called on Sliwa to exit the race, arguing he’s splitting the city’s politically moderate vote between himself and Cuomo by staying in — a fracture that stands to benefit the democratic socialist Mamdani.
Though he’s a life-long Democrat, Cuomo is running on an independent line in next month’s contest and likely needs at least some of Sliwa’s supporters to vote for him in order to have a credible shot at winning.
Polls have consistently shown Mamdani besting Cuomo by double digits, with Sliwa in third place. But a new poll released this week suggested Cuomo has a much better shot against Mamdani if Sliwa pulls out of the race, adding some urgency around the campaign to get the Republican nominee out.
While Cuomo and his allies kept pressing for Sliwa’s ouster, the Republican Party’s five borough-based chairs in the city came out in support Tuesday of Sliwa’s decision to stay in.
“Republicans should not have to clean up the mess Andrew Cuomo and the Democrats created, and we will not allow the political class to interfere with voters or hijack our ballot,” read a joint statement from the five chairs. “Curtis Sliwa is our candidate, the credible leader who will defeat the radical left and restore safety, affordability and common sense to City Hall. He is our candidate to defeat Zohran Mamdani on November 4th.”
One of the signees on the statement was Manhattan Republican Party Chairwoman Andrea Catsimatidis, the daughter of John Catsimatidis.
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