New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a Republican, told Newsmax Friday that she's a "little nervous" about the upcoming Democrat mayoral primary election, and she is already sounding the bell for Republicans to turn out in November.
"I think we're all al little nervous. This is absolutely wacko," Paladino said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
Paladino said she is bracing for the results around state Rep. Zohran Mamdani, a progressive socialist who continues to defend the Palestinian cry of "Globalize the intifada," violence against Jews. Mamdani and fellow Democrat candidate Brad Lander are endorsing each other in the hopes of keeping front-runner Andrew Cuomo from getting 50% of the vote and securing the Democrat nomination in Tuesday's election.
Paladino said she's calling on nonradical Democrats to omit Mamdani in the ranked choice voting.
"Let's get it straight: If anybody doesn't like Mamdani, then what they need to do is not color in the little dot, OK, in ranked choice. Omit him completely. Ignore him. That's one way of eliminating a win," Paladino said.
"But let's remember, he will be on the Working Families Party line as well, so he will show up in November."
Paladino was asked if a Republican stands a chance in November. Rudy Giuliani was the last Republican mayor from 1994-2001.
"You brought up the Republicans. This is going to be so split. You've got [Mayor Eric] Adams, independent. You've got Curtis [Sliwa], Republican. You've got [Andrew] Cuomo, possibly as a Democrat. If not, he will be an independent as well," Paladino said.
"You will have Zohran. He will also be there either as the Democrat by itself, secure that, but he'll also be on two lines; that's really bad. We've got a genuine problem here," she added.
"The Republicans need to come out and vote. Everybody needs to come out and vote. Vote this election. Do not stay home."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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