John Catsimatidis and Sid Rosenberg, two of New York’s most influential conservative voices, urged Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa to drop out of the race for City Hall on Monday, reasoning it’s necessary for him to do so to help defeating progressive frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.
Catsimatidis, a billionaire businessman and major Republican donor who owns the 77 WABC radio network, made his plea for Sliwa to end his campaign during an appearance on “Sid and Friends in the Morning,” Rosenberg’s tak show on 77 WABC.
“Curtis has to realize that he should love New York more than anything else. It certainly looks like Curtis should pull out right now,” Catsimatidis said. “[Sliwa] could win the next election because people will be proud of him for doing the right thing for New York City, instead of the wrong thing.”
“We cannot take a chance on Zohran winning and every common-sense New Yorker feels the same way.”
After the show, Rosenberg, himself a prominent figure in local conservative politics, told the Daily News he agrees with Catsimatidis on the need for Sliwa to step out of the race.
Both Catsimatidis and Rosenberg argued Sliwa must drop out in order to maximize the chances of Andrew Cuomo, the ex-governor who’s running as an independent and polling as the runner-up to Mamdani.
Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, didn’t take kindly to the advice and affirmed he has no intension of pulling out.
In a phone interview, Sliwa blasted Catsimatidis as misinformed and part of the cohort of billionaires who have sought to use their money and influence to tilt the electoral scales.
“John, who’s one of the billionaires, has actually created Zohran Mamdani’s movement … They don’t understand that the people don’t want the billionaires to pick who the next mayor is,” said Sliwa, who has also been a talk radio host on Catsimatidis’ network.
“They need to let the people choose the next mayor. He’s entitled to his opinion, Sid is entitled to his opinion, but they will not decide who the next mayor is. I trust the people, I don’t trust the billionaires.”
Cuomo has himself recently ramped up pressure on Sliwa to step out of the race, saying this past Friday it would be “very, very, very hard” to beat Mamdani unless it’s a head-to-head contest between them.
Polls have consistently shown Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, beating Cuomo by double digits. But a survey from Gotham Polling and AARP New York released Monday shows that, in a theoretical one-on-one race, Mamdani only holds a 44.6%-40.7% lead over Cuomo, with nearly 15% of voters undecided, adding renewed urgency for Sliwa to call it quits.
Barry Williams / New York Daily News
Polls have consistently shown Mamdani trouncing Cuomo by double digits. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
In his radio hit, Catsimatidis, who has also employed Sliwa as a talk show host on his radio network for years, said it wasn’t an easy call for him to make, adding he still believes Sliwa “would make the best mayor of all the candidates.” Catsimatidis previously backed Mayor Adams’ since-suspended reelection bid.
Rosenberg has been a steadfast supporter of Sliwa’s mayoral bid throughout the race, generally pushing back against those calling on him to step aside. Speaking to The News after Monday’s radio show, though, Rosenberg shifted his tune and agreed with Catsimatidis.
“This has nothing to do with Curtis personally, I love him … but if he can’t win it’s time to move on,” Rosenberg said. “I can’t have Mamdani win. If that means Cuomo winning, God bless him.”
Sliwa is on leave from his WABC radio show while on the mayoral campaign trail. Asked if he’s concerned Catsimatidis won’t let him back on the air if he doesn’t heed his call to drop out, Sliwa scoffed.
“Nobody has ever controlled Curtis Sliwa’s life,” he said.
Later in the day, Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has vowed to as mayor increase taxes on millionaires in order to bankroll his affordability agenda, offered support for Sliwa and urged him to stay in the race.
“I never thought I would say this, but here we are where the only two candidates that agree that billionaires shouldn’t determine the future of this city are the Democratic nominee and the Republican nominee,” Mamdani told reporters in Manhattan. “My advice to him is to continue to make his own case.”
Early voting in the Nov. 4 mayoral election starts this Saturday.
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