Dov Hikind shifts his NYC mayoral endorsement away from Curtis Sliwa, warning that only Andrew Cuomo could defeat a potentially disastrous Zohran Mandani.
Former New York State assemblyman Dov Hikind switched his New York City mayoral race endorsement from Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa to former NY governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday, warning the Democrat turned Independent was the only one who could defeat NY Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
The Sliwa stalwart explained in a social media video and in a conversation with The Jerusalem Post that while it was difficult for him to change his position after endorsing the talk show host four months prior, but believed that the “very future of New York City is at stake.”
Hikind didn’t see a pathway for Sliwa to seize victory amid stagnant polls, despite what he saw as a strong debate performance on Wednesday night. A lot of other Republicans were faced with the same problem when considering voting for Sliwa, he said.
“We do not have the luxury of misplacing our votes. I like Curtis. I still think he would be a great mayor,” said Hikind. “But right now there’s only one person that can stop Mamdani, and that’s Andrew Cuomo.”
Cuomo had called Hikind on Friday to ask for the former Assemblyman’s endorsement, but he didn’t give his answer until now. Hikind was upfront with Cuomo, as he was in his public statement, about his problems with the independent candidate. He could understand why others would also be reluctant to give him their vote, but one didn’t have to “love” the former governor to acknowledge the threat posed by Mamdani.
A ‘disaster waiting to happen’
The former assemblyman warned in his video that Mamdani’s policies offering free bus lines, government operated grocery stores, and “free everything for everybody” was a “disaster waiting to happen.”
Hikind had also noted on social media that Mamdani had affiliated with radical Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once said that America “deserved” the September 11 terrorist attacks, and controversial Muslim leader Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who was one of the unindicted coconspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings. He cautioned the Post that Mamdani was a “radical Islamist,” and his decision to endorse Cuomo was about “defeating a monster.”
“New York City is in a critical moment. If Mamdani wins, the future of our city is on the line,” Hikind said in his video statement. “That’s not politics. That’s reality.”
Hikind told the Post that he thought that there was only a small chance that Sliwa would drop out of the race. He didn’t call on the Republican to withdraw, explaining that was his decision to make.
In June, Hikind had called on Cuomo and incumbent mayor Eric Adams to drop out of the election, as the city had to unite to “defeat the dangerous antisemite Mamdani.”