(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party or candidate on the part of Newsmax.)
For more than 40 years, I’ve worked as a political strategist for presidents, governors, senators, and mayors.
I've helped shape campaigns at the highest levels — from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump — and if there’s one thing experience teaches, it's how to recognize when the political winds are shifting.
Right now, those winds are blowing toward Curtis Sliwa.
In the three-way race for mayor of New York City between Sliwa, Andrew Cuomo, and Zohran Mamdani, the field is fragmented.
But within that division lies Sliwa's path to victory.
In a city hungry for safety, accountability, and common sense, Curtis Sliwa is the only candidate who can unify the middle and win.
Let's be blunt: this race is not your typical Democrat-Republican showdown.
Cuomo and Mamdani are splitting the Democratic vote right down the middle — and both are deeply flawed in ways that New Yorkers can see clearly.
Mamdani, the far-left assemblyman from Queens, wants to close Rikers Island — yes, the city's main jail — and effectively release thousands of criminals onto our streets.
He supports eliminating bail, gutting the very system that keeps repeat offenders off the subway platforms and away from innocent families.
His policies are anti-police, anti-jail, and anti-safety. If you like chaos, he's your man.
Cuomo, meanwhile, paved the way for radicals like Mamdani.
It was Cuomo who championed the no-bail law, turning New York into a revolving door for criminals.
It was Cuomo who proudly declared New York a "sanctuary city," preventing federal agents from deporting illegal immigrants who committed crimes.
Between Cuomo's failed policies and Mamdani's radical ideology, the city is at risk of becoming unlivable again — just as it was before Rudy Giuliani cleaned it up in the 1990s.
Curtis Sliwa is the only candidate in this race who understands the heartbeat of this city.
He's not a polished politician — and that's precisely why voters trust him.
A born-and-bred New Yorker, Sliwa built his reputation on action, not rhetoric.
As founder of the Guardian Angels, he patrolled dangerous neighborhoods when others looked the other way. He's stood up for working-class New Yorkers, for law enforcement, and for victims of crime.
While Mamdani and Cuomo talk about criminal "justice reform," Sliwa talks about protecting victims and neighborhoods.
He's the only one who would restore bail laws, re-incarcerate repeat offenders, and support our police officers instead of vilifying them.
In a recent AARP/Gotham poll, Sliwa's support jumped from 17% to 19.4% after a strong debate performance — and that number will rise further as voters focus on public safety, the issue that defines this election.
Let’s not forget who Andrew Cuomo really is.
His record is filled with scandal, hypocrisy, and betrayal of New Yorkers.
Cuomo's disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of seniors.
He forced nursing homes to accept COVID-19-positive patients, a decision resulting in mass tragedy. Cuomo then covered up the numbers.
That alone should disqualify him from public life, let alone leadership.
Then there's his war on religion — particularly against Catholics and Jews.
Cuomo's law enabling decades-old, anonymous lawsuits against Catholic priests and institutions has devastated the Catholic Church in New York. Nearly every diocese in the state has gone bankrupt because of it.
The New York Archdiocese is hanging by a thread, facing financial ruin.
Cuomo targeted faith institutions under the guise of "justice," when in reality it was a cynical political play to curry favor with trial lawyers and the activist left.
And for Jewish voters — many of whom remember Cuomo's repeated public clashes with Orthodox communities — the distrust runs deep.
It's no wonder Rudy Giuliani, the man who saved New York once before, has endorsed Sliwa "100 percent."
Rudy sees what I see: a divided Democratic field and a real chance for Sliwa to pull off an upset. New York City elections are rarely about ideology — they're about turnout and energy.
Cuomo and Mamdani will cannibalize each other's base.
Cuomo appeals to older establishment Democrats, while Mamdani draws the activist left.
That split will leave room for a third force — a candidate who appeals to the middle, to independents, and to Republicans desperate to save their city.
That's Sliwa's lane.
If Curtis can consolidate Republicans and conservative Democrats, while peeling away independents tired of crime, chaos, and corruption, he can win this race with as little as 35-38% of the total vote.
That's entirely doable in a three-way split.
Remember: Giuliani won in 1993 because voters were fed up with crime.
They wanted a mayor who would restore order and pride to New York.
We're back in that same moment today. This race ultimately boils down to a simple question: do New Yorkers want to feel safe again?
Mamdani wants to close jails. Cuomo helped open the doors to them in the first place. And both men want to tie the hands of the police force.
Sliwa is the only one who will stand with law enforcement, stand up for victims, and bring back common sense.
He's not a career politician — he's a fighter. He’s been on the subways, in the neighborhoods, and on the front lines when crime was at its worst.
He knows what it takes to turn this city around.
If New Yorkers stick together — Republicans, independents, and even moderate Democrats — Sliwa can do what no one thinks possible: win this election and restore sanity to our city.
Rudy Giuliani knows it. I know it. And soon, all of New York will too.
Dick Morris is a political strategist and author who has advised several U.S. presidents, governors, and mayors over a 40-year career. Read Dick Morris' Reports — here.
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