Curtis Sliwa will not quit mayoral race despite pressure for him to let Cuomo face Mamdani alone

“So, let’s be very clear: I am not dropping out, under no circumstances,” the GOP nominee for mayor said on Tuesday. “I’ve already been offered money to drop out, I said no.” Influential Republican John Catsimatidis also issued a plea for Sliwa to drop out of the race and get behind Cuomo, who polls show has a shot of beating Mamdani if all other candidates drop out.

This comes after there have been calls for months from more moderate voices to coalesce behind one candidate that will defeat Mamdani, who was able to best Cuomo in the Democrat mayoral primary earlier this year.

However, Sliwa continues to have the support of other Republican leaders, such as Catsimatidis' daughter. Andrea Catsimatidis is the chair of the New York GOP. The committee said in a statement, “Republicans across every borough stand united behind Curtis Sliwa for Mayor of New York City. Republican voters are not going to vote for Andrew Cuomo."

“Curtis Sliwa is our candidate, the credible leader who will defeat the radical left and restore safety, affordability, and common sense to City Hall. He is our candidate to defeat Zohran Mamdani on November 4th," the committee added.

Cuomo and NYC Mayor Eric Adams have run as independents in the election with Sliwa as the Republican nominee and Mamdani as the Democrat nominee. Adams has departed the race, leaving only the three candidates. It would be very unlikely that Sliwa would be able to win against Mamdani as a Republican in the heavily Democrat city.