Mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa.
Left: Photo by Lloyd Mitchell; Center & Right: Photo by Jonathan Portee
Independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo appears to be open to offering Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa a job in his administration if Sliwa withdraws from the race ahead of the Nov. 4 election in an apparent bid to close the distance on Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani, the clear frontrunner in the race ever since his comprehensive victory in the Democratic primary in June, is ahead by a double-digit margin in almost every poll when all three candidates remain in the field.
However, a recent poll from AARP and Gotham Polling & Analytics stated that Mamdani’s double-digit lead narrowed to just 4% in a scenario where Sliwa withdrew from the race, a lead that falls within the poll’s margin of error.
That poll has prompted some Republicans and moderate Democrats to call on Sliwa to withdraw from the race and give Cuomo the best possible chance of causing an upset next month.
John Catsimatidis, the billionaire supermarket magnate who owns Red Apple Media and WABC, appeared on the Sid Rosenberg show on Monday morning to call on Sliwa — a WABC radio host — to withdraw from the race and aid the Cuomo campaign.
Cuomo appeared on the same show on Tuesday and appeared to make a similar call, indicating that he would be open to offering Sliwa a position in City Hall if the Republican nominee were to withdrew from the race.
“Would that be something that Andrew Cuomo would think about doing in an effort to beat Mamdani, maybe make Curtis a part of the administration?” Rosenberg asked the former governor on Tuesday morning.
Cuomo responded that he wanted everyone’s support in the mayoral race, including that of every Republican. He added that he would also like Sliwa’s support in the race but said he had never thought about the prospect of offering the Republican nominee a job.
Cuomo later stated that he would be interested in such a prospect.
“That would be something that I would be interested in. We need a coalition to run this city. We need New Yorkers to come together,” Cuomo told Rosenberg.
The statement appears to be a U-turn from Cuomo, who dismissed the suggestion of offering a job to Sliwa during a conversation with businessman Elisha Wiesel on Monday night.
Neither the Sliwa or Cuomo campaign has responded to a request for comment.
Sliwa, however, has repeatedly stated that he will not withdraw from the campaign and reiterated this following Catsimatidis’s comments on Monday.
“Curtis Sliwa stands firm and is not dropping out,” Sliwa spokesperson Daniel Kurzyna said in a statement. “Today’s news does not change anything.
“Others may have their opinions, but the voters will decide in 15 days. Andrew Cuomo has been absent from public view for 10 days; if he seeks support, he must actively earn it.”
On Tuesday, the five Republican county chairs representing New York City also issued a joint statement in which they stood by Sliwa, stating that they believed Republican voters are dead-set against voting for Cuomo under any circumstances.