Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa faced growing pressure to drop out of New York City's mayoral race Monday — this time from his billionaire longtime friend and boss.
John Catsimatidis called on Sliwa to quit the race, joining a last-minute effort by Andrew Cuomo and his supporters to clear the field for the former governor, who is running as an independent. The call touched off a disagreement between Sliwa and Catsimatidis over the Guardian Angel founder’s job status, highlighting his estrangement from the city’s donor class as Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani holds the lead in recent polls.
“Look, I love Curtis,” Catsimatidis said during an interview with WABC host Sid Rosenberg. “But Curtis has to realize that he should love New York more than anything else. And it certainly looks like Curtis should pull out right now.”
“We cannot take a chance on Zohran winning,” Catsimatidis added, referring to the democratic socialist state assemblymember from Queens.
John Catsimatidis owns WABC, where Curtis Sliwa is a radio host.
It was the first time Catsimatidis had publicly urged Sliwa to leave the race and help consolidate support for Cuomo.
The election has increasingly strained the relationship between the two conservatives. Sliwa has for years worked for Catsimatidis as a WABC radio host. Sliwa was previously reported as being on leave, but his campaign said Monday he “quit” in February to run for mayor. Sliwa is not currently being paid, according to a campaign spokesperson.
Catsimatidis told Gothamist in a text message that Sliwa was “on leave” from the station. Asked if he planned to have Sliwa resume his show after the election should he lose, the billionaire replied, “Up to him.”
Polls show Sliwa in a distant third place after Cuomo and Mamdani, with early voting set to start this coming weekend.
Catsimatidis’ remarks reflect mounting desperation among Cuomo supporters. After last week's mayoral debate, Cuomo went on WABC and said it would be “very, very, very hard mathematically” for him to win the race should Sliwa continue to campaign.
Sliwa has repeatedly refused to drop out. The Guardian Angels founder excoriated Cuomo over the weekend for presuming Sliwa’s base would vote for the former governor.
“So I’m supposed to help them?” Sliwa said. “How come they don’t help themselves?”
In response to Catsimatidis’ comments, Sliwa’s campaign reiterated he won’t drop out.
“Today’s news doesn’t change a thing,” said campaign spokesperson Daniel Kurzyna. He added that if Cuomo “wants support, he should get out and earn it.”
