Several of Rudy Giuliani's top aides have thrown their support behind Andrew Cuomo over Curtis Sliwa in New York City’s mayoral race, hoping to block Zohran Mamdani from winning City Hall.
Mid-September polling from the New York Times still had Mamdani up by 18 points over Cuomo and a staggering 36 points over Sliwa. With the threat of a Mamdani victory looming, most conservatives have coalesced around Cuomo, viewing him as the only viable option to stop one of America’s greatest cities from descending into a socialist hellhole. No new polling has been released since incumbent Mayor Eric Adams abruptly exited the race.
Joe Lhota, the Republican candidate for mayor of NYC in 2013, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief under then Governor Andrew Cuomo, and deputy mayor under Giuliani, told the New York Post he is throwing his support behind Cuomo.
“It’s a choice between a proven manager, a socialist and a fruit loop,” said Lhota, who now identifies as a Democrat. “Of course I’m going to be with Andrew.”
Anthony Carbonetti, who served as Giuliani's Chief of Staff and senior advisor to his presidential campaign in 2008, will also be supporting Cuomo in the mayoral race over Sliwa.
“Curtis is a great New Yorker. But the numbers aren’t there for him to win,” Carbonetti said. “I don’t want a socialist in charge of a $116 billion city budget.”
He said that he had supported Sliwa four years ago, but in the current state of the race, the stakes are too high to risk a self-proclaimed democratic socialist taking office. He said Sliwa at this point is only capable of playing spoiler, according to the Post.
Former GOP US Attorney General Mike Mukasey, who worked under former President George Bush, also endorsed Cuomo in an op-ed written for the Staten Island Advance on Thursday.
“The first rule for Republicans must be that our city should not be put at risk of irreversible damage, which it would be if Mamdani is elected,” Mukasey wrote. “The second rule is that we must act on the best information we have so as to follow the first rule. That information says that Cuomo is the most viable alternative to Mamdani, particularly after Adams has withdrawn.”
President Trump, as well, decided not to endorse Sliwa, saying on “Fox & Friends” last month, “Look, I’m a Republican, but Curtis is not exactly prime time.”
Sliwa's campaign dismissed the slew of Republican endorsements of Cuomo.
“Joe Lhota has been a Democrat since 2016. He worked for Andrew Cuomo,” said campaign adviser Rob Cole. “Big deal.”
Giuliani who served as mayor from 1994 to 2001 and later as Trump’s personal lawyer, has yet to endorse a candidate in the mayoral race.