WABC—Republican candidate for New York City mayor Curtis Sliwa is remaining defiant and says he will not drop out of the race — in fact he is vowing to vote for himself on the first day of early voting this weekend.
The pressure is building on conservative radio host Sliwa, but the Republican nominee is taking a hard line.
“The billionaires will not be picking the mayor, they have been wrong every step of the way and I will be casting my vote on the first day of early voting, on Saturday,” Sliwa said. “So that should reaffirm to everybody I’m in it to win it.”
The fact is, pressure on Sliwa to quit the race has never been greater.
Last week’s Fox News poll gave Zohran Mamdani 52% of likely voters. Andrew Cuomo trails with 28% followed by Sliwa 14. And 2% would vote for Mayor Eric Adams, although he’s no longer campaigning.
The former governor and his supporters are convinced he can’t win with Sliwa in the race.
On Tuesday morning, Sliwa’s billionaire boss at WABC Radio, John Catsimatidis, repeated his public appeal to Sliwa to step aside.
“There’s no guarantees in life, but it gives us a shot,” Catsimatidis said. “It gives us a shot that all New Yorkers that care about New York will come out and vote.”
The former governor outlined his platform for business leaders at the Association for a Better New York on Tuesday morning.
“My opponent has never had a real job, should your first job be mayor of New York City?” Cuomo said of Mamdani.
And on Monday, Mamdani said Sliwa should resist the pressure and that the Republican nominee should not drop out, no matter what.
“That is one place where Curtis and I agree, which is that it’s time for New Yorkers to make this decision, not for billionaire donors to determine who gets to run in this city,” Mamdani said. “My advice to him is to continue to make his own case.”
Cuomo suggested he would consider giving Sliwa a place in his City Hall if he is elected mayor.
