Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday pleaded with New York Metropolis Republicans and conservatives to vote for him as a substitute of GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa within the mayoral race — joking that “I don’t have horns.”
The previous governor made the enchantment on a right-leaning radio present, telling listeners {that a} vote for Sliwa will assist lefty Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani cruise to victory.
“I want your listeners to vote for me,” Cuomo advised host Sid Rosenberg on WABC 77 radio’s “Sid & Buddies within the Morning” program.
“I don’t have horns,” he quipped. “I want your voters to vote for me.”
Cuomo, when requested by Rosenberg whether or not he’d take into account giving Sliwa a job in his potential administration ought to the Guardian Angels founder name it quits, left the door open to the thought.
“I haven’t even considered it to inform you the reality, however, sure, that might be one thing that I’m curious about,” he mentioned.
“I would love Curtis’ assist,” Cuomo added, praising the work of his opponent’s purple beret-wearing public security patrol group.
“[Sliwa] does know the transit system — the trains and the subway,” Cuomo mentioned.
However the ex-governor, who’s working as an impartial, additionally continued to say Sliwa solely serves as a spoiler candidate whose votes will ship the November 4 election to Mamdani, the socialist Democratic Occasion nominee.
“He’s not viable. A vote for Curtis is a vote for Mamdani. Everybody is aware of that,” Cuomo mentioned.
His pitch mirrored a plea he made to Republicans on WABC’s the “Cats Roundtable” program hosted by John Catsimatidis on Sunday.
WABC radio proprietor Catsimatidis — Sliwa’s boss earlier than he left his present on the station to run for mayor — has publicly urged the GOP standard-bearer to droop his marketing campaign in favor of Cuomo.
Cuomo trails Mamdani by double digits in current common election polls, however is working forward of Sliwa, with a current ballot displaying he could possibly be inside placing distance of the front-runner in a two-way race.
The three-term Queens state assemblyman — who trounced Cuomo within the June Democratic major — is comfortably forward partially as a result of the ex-gov and Sliwa are splitting the anti-Mamdani vote.
At a breakfast discussion board on Tuesday, Cuomo insisted he’s within the race to win it amid criticism he’s run a lackluster marketing campaign.
“Do you actually need to do that?” he was requested on the Affiliation For a Higher New York occasion, responding
He insisted he needs to be mayor.
“I’m afraid for New York Metropolis, and I’ve by no means felt that earlier than,” mentioned Cuomo, who earlier on the radio referred to as Mamdani “horrifying.”
Reporters famous to Cuomo that he was not not stumping as vigorously in metropolis neighborhoods as
Sliwa, who sometimes holds 5 or 6 public occasions a day.
“I’m reaching out to his voters to get them to assist me,” Cuomo mentioned.
“I don’t know what he does. I do know what I do … I’m aggressively going out to fulfill all his voters.”
Sliwa, for the umpteenth time, mentioned Tuesday he’ll not be dropping out of the race.
“So, let’s be very clear: I’m not dropping out, by no means,” he advised reporters. “I’ve already been supplied cash to drop out. I mentioned ‘no.’”
The 5 borough Republican Occasion chairpersons additionally issued a joint assertion Tuesday standing behind Sliwa, together with Manhattan chief Andrea Catsimatidis, John Catsimatidis’ daughter.
Sliwa will take part within the closing mayoral debate happening Wednesday on Spectrum NY1. The 9 days of early voting begins Saturday.
