As he pleaded for support from conservative voters Friday, Andrew Cuomo acknowledged it will be “very, very, very hard” for him to win next month’s mayoral election as long as Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa stays in the race.
Cuomo, who’s campaigning as an independent in the Nov. 4 election and trailing Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani by double digits in the polls, made the comment during an appearance on talk show host Sid Rosenberg’s WABC radio show.
Rosenberg’s show has a largely conservative audience, and polls back up the idea that Cuomo’s path to victory would all but certainly require some support from Republicans, as Mamdani maintains a commanding grip on the Democratic electorate.
In that vein, Cuomo pleaded with Rosenberg’s listeners to vote for him instead of Sliwa, a somewhat surprising ask given Sliwa has shown no sign that he would drop out.
“He cannot win,” Cuomo said of Sliwa, who’s polling in third place behind the ex-gov and Mamdani.
“You vote for Curtis, save yourself the time, and vote for Mamdani. That’s what this is.”
Conversely, Cuomo argued Mamdani will have no shot if Sliwa ends his “spoiler” campaign.
“If Curtis is not in the race, I win and that’s the choice for the Republicans,” he said.
Early voting in the mayoral election starts Oct. 25.
Barry Williams/ New York Daily News
Zohran Mamdani participates in a reverse town hall meeting at 32BJ SEIU headquarters on Friday in Manhattan. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels who has his own talk show on WABC, said Cuomo’s pitch reeked of “desperation” and urged him to step aside so he can alone take on Mamdani.
“He threw in the white towel there, he basically said to his supporters: ‘If Curtis is in it, I lose.’ Why would he even say that? You need your supporters to be enthusiastic right now … I don’t know why anyone would be when he’s basically already saying that he’s lost,” Sliwa told the Daily News.
“It’s over for Cuomo, and he should do himself a favor and drop out and let this race be between me and Zohran.”
Sliwa and Cuomo have both been adamant they won’t abandon their campaigns.
Cuomo received a slight boost in the polls after Mayor Adams, who was also running as an independent, ditched his bid for reelection late last month amid record low approval ratings.
But Adams’ exit does not appear to be enough for Cuomo.
On Thursday evening, Fox News released a poll showing Mamdani pulling 52% support from likely Nov. 4 voters, putting him way ahead of Cuomo, who netted 28% in the survey, and Sliwa, who received 14%.
By that poll’s account, Cuomo would still trail Mamdani by 10% even if he secures support from all of Sliwa’s voters.
Cuomo’s radio comments came the morning after the three candidates faced off on stage at the first general mayoral election debate.
Cuomo faced broadsides during the two-hour showdown from both Sliwa and Mamdani over various controversial aspects of his record, such as his 2021 resignation as governor amid sexual and professional misconduct accusations that he now denies.
The ex-governor punched back, mainly at Mamdani, seeking to portray him as ideologically extreme and inexperienced, but some of his attack lines didn’t land as the debate quickly devolved into shouting matches.
Barry Williams/ New York Daily News
Zohran Mamdani speaks to the media after participating in a reverse town hall at 32BJ SEIU headquarters on Friday in Manhattan. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Speaking to reporters after a Friday morning town hall event in Manhattan with local union members, Mamdani said he agrees with Cuomo’s assessment about the state of the race.
“I’d probably have the same acknowledgement if i was the governor after last night’s debate, which is that he has a very narrow path to winning this race because what New Yorkers saw is the fact that it’s more of the same with Andrew Cuomo,” he said. “It’s more of the same with the affordability crisis, it’s more of the same with the style of politics.”
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