Republican New York mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa defended his decision Monday on Newsmax to remain in the race — despite mounting calls for him to drop out to unify voters behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo against Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani.
Sliwa emphasized on "Rob Schmitt Tonight" that his campaign is built on law-and-order credentials and genuine grassroots support, arguing that abandoning the race would undermine his legitimacy and hand an undeserved victory to Mamdani, who defeated Cuomo decisively in the Democratic primary.
Cuomo is running as an independent.
"I am the legitimate Republican Party candidate, and major party candidates don't drop out for independents who are losers to begin with," said Sliwa.
"I am the law-and-order candidate, of which Andrew Cuomo is the architect and Mamdani is the apprentice" in the city's escalating crime rate, he added.
Polling, however, suggests a tighter race if Sliwa exits.
In a head-to-head scenario between Mamdani and Cuomo, several surveys show the gap shrinking significantly.
For example, a recent poll found Mamdani's lead over Cuomo narrowing to within 4 percentage points if Sliwa dropped out.
Sliwa dismissed the polls as flawed based on past errors.
"[The polls] were wrong during the primary when Andrew Cuomo was up by 40 percentage points over Zohran Mamdani," Sliwa said.
"Unfavorability is Andrew Cuomo; people don't like him.
"He killed people, 15,000 [by putting COVID-19 patients in nursing homes].
"He never apologized for it; he's responsible for the crime crisis. He can't reinvent himself.
"We'll have another debate [Thursday] night, and we will discuss the issues. I whooped him and Zohran in the first debate."
Asked if he truly believed he could win in a blue city as a Republican, Sliwa said emphatically, "I know I can win, I'm out in the streets.
"Andrew Cuomo hasn't been on the campaign trail for 10 days."
He referenced New York's history of unexpected Republican victories in New York, citing the 1993 mayoral victory of Rudy Giuliani and the 1994 gubernatorial upset by George Pataki over Mario Cuomo.
"We have energy," Sliwa said.
"We're going door-to-door. We have a get-out-the-vote effort. I haven't seen anything of a Cuomo get-out-the-vote effort.
"So, I'm supposed to drop out for a loser who destroyed the state?
"And you want me to give him an opportunity to put the last nail in the coffin and destroy New York City, too? It's not going to happen.
"Let the people decide who the next mayor is," Sliwa concluded.
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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