Republican New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa told Newsmax Saturday that he's the positive candidate for the job.
Sliwa told Newsmax's "Saturday Agenda" that his focus in the campaign is what he can do to improve life in New York.
"I'm the happy warrior," he said.
Sliwa contrasted his approach with that of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing in the Democratic primary to Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist.
"Everything is fear, fright, hysteria. It's dystopian," he said.
"It's nothing positive coming from him."
Sliwa accused Cuomo of failing to campaign aggressively in the race.
"Andrew Cuomo has been off the campaign trail, according to the New York Post, since Labor Day for 10 days."
Sliwa said you can't win an election in New York without being out front every day.
"I'm out there. My favorables are at an all-time high," he said.
Polls show Mamdani as the front-runner in the race, with Cuomo in second place.
Sliwa said some political figures have tried to get him to drop out of the race, claiming it would boost Cuomo's chances.
He countered that if Mamdani wins, it won't be his fault "because the Democrats have only themselves to blame." He said they made a bad choice.
"They decided to resurrect the zombie politician, Andrew Cuomo, and bestow upon him all the institutional support, all the Democratic leadership," Sliwa said.
"The unions endorsed him in the primary, and he got beat badly by Zohran Mamdani."
With early voting underway in New York ahead of next week's election, Sliwa said he can win and his job now is to convert support into votes.
"So my job in the next three days is to take everybody who loves Curtis, which are many, to get that translated into a vote. And we're doing very well," he said.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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