Baba UmarWashington DC — With just 15 days until New York City's mayoral race, and with popular Muslim Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani leading in recent polls, calls are growing for Republican Curtis Sliwa to abandon his "spoiler" bid and allow independent Andrew Cuomo to challenge Mamdani.
Those calling on Sliwa to withdraw now comprise a coalition of New York conservatives, some moderate Democrats, and wealthy donors. This group includes billionaire John Catsimatidis, who is the CEO of WABC Radio and Red Apple Media, billionaire and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, and Sid Rosenberg, a highly influential conservative voice in New York.
The calls come as a new poll from AARP and Gotham Polling finds Mamdani, 33, holding his lead at 43.2 percent. Cuomo, 67, is in second place at 28.9 percent, and Sliwa, 71, is in third place at 19.4 percent.
As early voting commences on Saturday, October 25, ahead of the election on November 4, pressure is intensifying on Sliwa, a vigilante, to withdraw and endorse Cuomo, an accused molester. The goal is to unite opposition in the Democrat-led city, despite Sliwa's pledge to continue his campaign.
"Drop out already!" a commuter yelled on Tuesday as he walked by the press conference held by Sliwa outside a Manhattan subway station.
But Sliwa remains adamant, complicating chances of Cuomo.
"I am not dropping out. Under no circumstance. I've already been offered money to drop out, I said no. Distant from that, with threats against Nancy [his wife] and myself, I now have to have armed security with me, former NYPD officers. Never had that in my life," Sliwa told the reporters.
The AARP and Gotham Polling indicate that Cuomo and Mamdani would be in a very close race if Sliwa were to withdraw, with Cuomo trailing Mamdani by just four points, a difference that falls within the poll's margin of error.
In this scenario, Mamdani leads with 44.6 percent, while Cuomo trails with 40.7 percent.
'He is a spoiler'
However, Sliwa has reckoned Cuomo's campaign efforts were rather lacklustre and that Cuomo was relying on Sliwa to drop out of the race.
When asked whether he would prefer Mamdani or Cuomo to win the race, Sliwa told Fox News that they are "two peas in a pod," adding, "These Democrats, both of whom are Democrats, led us down this path of destruction."
For Catsimatidis, a Republican who launched his own mayoral campaign in 2013, "Sliwa's continued candidacy could split the vote and inadvertently help another candidate."
"Curtis has to realise that he should love New York more than anything else. It certainly looks like Curtis should pull out right now," Catsimatidis said during an appearance on "Sid & Friends in the Morning," Rosenberg's talk show.
"We cannot take a chance on Zohran winning, and every commonsense New Yorker feels the same way."
Sliwa, however, took to X on Tuesday, saying his love for New York is "too much to hand it over to political insiders and special interests."
"The architect, Cuomo, and the apprentice, Mamdani, are one and the same. I'm the People's Mayor, and we will win together on November 4th!"
Cuomo stated last week that Sliwa's candidacy complicates his chances against Mamdani. He now deems Sliwa irrelevant, a shift from his prior stance.
"He does take a certain number of votes, and to that extent, he is a spoiler. I believe he's, ultimately, irrelevant, because he's not a viable candidate and I don't think people are gonna throw away their vote," Cuomo told Fox News.
'Billionaires shouldn't determine future of this city'
Interestingly, Sliwa's adamance to remain in the race and avoid pressure from billionaires places him on unexpectedly common turf with Mamdani, who has also rejected billionaire influence in the mayoral election.
Mamdani believes Sliwa must stay in the competition.
"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," he told reporters in Manhattan. "My advice to him is to continue to make his own case."
Mamdani, a Queens lawmaker, achieved a surprise Democratic primary victory, defeating Cuomo to become the party's nominee after a grass-roots campaign.
He has pledged free buses, rent freezes, and city supermarkets. Cuomo, New York's governor from 2011–2021, who resigned over sexual assault allegations, has criticised Mamdani's pledges as unrealistic and costly.
Sliwa, who founded the Guardian Angels vigilante group in 1979, alleges Cuomo offered inducements to quit the race, such as high-paying job and a driver. Cuomo rejects these claims.
Meanwhile, the three contestants are preparing for their second and final debate on Wednesday, just three days before early voting begins.
During the 90-minute debate, hosted by NY1 and scheduled to start at 7 pm EST, the candidates will present their closing televised arguments to the city's 8.5 million residents, who will be factoring in US President Donald Trump's threat to cut federal funds to New York should it hand the victory to Mamdani.
