Big Apple GOP bigwig John Catsimatidis pleaded for Curtis Sliwa to end his bid for mayor — in a last-ditch attempt to unite behind Andrew Cuomo with just over two weeks left until voters head to the polls.
“Curtis would make the best mayor of all the candidates… but Curtis has to realize that he should love New York more than anything else,” the billionaire supermarket magnet told Sid Rosenberg on WABC radio. “It certainly looks like Curtis should pull out right now.”
“He 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.
New York City Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, talks at 5th Avenue Synagogue in New York City on October 19, 2025. Leonardo Munoz
GOP bigwig John Catsimatidis pleaded for the first time Monday for Curtis Sliwa to end his bid for mayor. Paul Martinka
“I think Curtis would be a hero if we beat Zohran [Mamdani].”
The comments mark the first time that he has publicly called on Sliwa, who is the Republican nominee and works for Catsimatidis as a radio personality on WABC, to exit the race.
Rosenberg chimed in, adding that even if Sliwa bowed out, a Cuomo victory would still not be guaranteed — but it would give the ex-governor a shot.
Sid Rosenberg said Cuomo has a better chance to win if Sliwa bows out. Corbis via Getty Images
“We didn’t do this a month or two months ago but his poll numbers aren’t going up,” he added, brushing off criticism about the call.
A new survey released Monday morning from AARP and Gotham Polling found that Cuomo would be in striking distance of Mamdani, a proud socialist and the Democratic nominee.
Cuomo conceded on MSNBC Monday morning that it would be “very hard” for him to pull out a win if Sliwa didn’t drop, but was hopeful all of the votes would break his way if the GOP nominee decided to end his bid.