Overview
- Curtis Sliwa vowed to stay in the New York City mayoral race, saying he will not drop out under any circumstances and claiming he has been offered money to quit.
- Andrew Cuomo urged conservatives to back him and said on WABC he would be interested in giving Sliwa a job if Sliwa left the race, framing the Republican as a spoiler for Zohran Mamdani.
- Republican county chairs from all five NYC boroughs issued a joint statement backing Sliwa and rejecting calls to shift GOP support to Cuomo.
- An AARP/Gotham Polling analysis found Mamdani leads in the three-way race, but a head-to-head shows Mamdani at 44.6% to Cuomo’s 40.7% within the margin of error, as early voting begins Oct. 25 and Sliwa’s name remains on the ballot regardless.
- Sliwa’s record is under renewed scrutiny, including IRS records showing the Guardian Angels lost tax-exempt status in 2022 and his past admission of staged stunts, while accusations against Mamdani have intensified and been denied by the candidate.