I write this letter as a conservative Republican urging any fellow YWN readers who may still be considering voting for Curtis Sliwa to perhaps give it a second thought. As Election Day approaches, it has become increasingly clear that if there is any realistic chance of stopping Zohran Mamdani, it lies with Andrew Cuomo, not Curtis Sliwa—despite what you may like about him—because, well, he’s simply a no-go.
Whenever we vote we want our votes to count and make a meaningful impact on the outcome of the election. We’re often faced with independent candidates—such as Ralph Nader, Ross Perot, and Gary Johnson—but rarely even consider them, despite the appeal they may have, because we want our votes to meaningfully contribute to the outcome of the election. Unfortunately, I believe this is the way we have to regard Curtis Sliwa. Our community has an important voice in this election and it is crucial that we use it properly to stop Zohran Mamdani.
Andrew Cuomo has proven somewhat competitive in recent polling- especially if he can peel off some Sliwa voters. A Tulchin Research survey from August- although a bit of an outlier- shows Cuomo beating Mamdani in a head-to-head matchup by quite a few points. A New York Times/Sienna College poll from September shows Cuomo trailing Mamdani by a meager four points in a head-to-head matchup. And of course, the AARP poll from earlier this week also shows Cuomo trailing Mamdani by just four points head-to-head. Mr. Sliwa for his part can’t produce a single poll where he comes anywhere remotely close to Mamdani- whether in a three-way matchup, head-to-head matchup, or any permutation thereof. With Cuomo’s strong debate performance Wednesday night, if enough Sliwa voters defect for Cuomo, maybe just maybe he can pull off an upset against Mamdani.
This is exactly why many prominent Republicans have swung their support behind Cuomo’s campaign, despite the misgivings they may have about him. Joe Lhota, the Republican candidate for NYC mayor in 2013 has backed Cuomo. Anthony Carbonetti, Rudy Giuliani’s chief of staff while he was mayor, has similarly backed Como. Michael Mukasey, who served as U.S. Attorney General under George W. Bush and has been a Republican loyalist for nearly half a century, wrote an op-ed in the Staten Island Advance earlier this month titled ‘Here’s Why This Republican Is Voting for Andrew Cuomo.’ [1] And of course President Trump essentially endorsed Cuomo earlier this week from the oval office in order to stop Mamdani, and has implicitly been backing Cuomo for months already with his behind the scenes, albeit unsuccessful, efforts to get Mr. Sliwa to drop out of the race. Even conservative heavyweight Mark Levin all but called on Curtis Sliwa to drop out of the race earlier this week on his radio program to give Cuomo a clean shot at stopping Mamdani.
I fully understand the grievances that many have with Cuomo- which I share, and they are numerous, but it’s important to look at the bigger picture. New York has survived the leadership of the likes of David Dinkins, Bill DeBlasio, and other incompetents- heck, we even survived 10+ years of Cuomo’s governorship (unless you were in a nursing home), but a Zohran mayoralty presents potential challenges and dangers to us as New Yorkers and as a community in particular that we have perhaps never faced before. It’s important to consider this before voting.
Make no mistake about it: the most effective thing you can do to stop a Zohran mayoralty is to vote for Andrew Cumo, not for Curtis Sliwa. If enough right-leaning voters join ranks with the large block of moderate Democrats who want nothing to do with Mamdani’s socialist, anti-cop, and anti-Israel policies to vote for Cuomo, then perhaps there can be a glimmer of hope of stopping him.
As early voting approaches for this crucial election it’s important to give careful consideration to whom you vote for. Even if you’re a conservative Republican, like me, I urge you to consider voting for Cuomo…..not the no-go.
Signed,
E.G.
The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.
[1] https://nypost.com/2025/10/02/us-news/rudy-giuliani-allies-back-andrew-cuomo-over-curtis-sliwa-for-nyc-mayor-socialist-and-a-fruit-loop/
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
It’s something we all know but unfortunately there are neighborhoods refusing to budge including Marine Park and much of Staten Island that have their head in the sand. He will never drop out of the race because of his bloated ego and he’s going to cost us the city. Hopefully people wake up before it’s too late
Earlier today, my wife and I, registered Republicans, have pinched our noses and filled in the little circle next to Cuomo’s name.Note, it was not easy to find his name! It was not a vote for him out of admiration, rather, as this letter writer says, we must. And this couple did. It amuses me that out of 8 million NYers, these are the best 3 we can find!
why do you think a mamdani win is worse than a cuomo win? why do you identify as republican and not jewish? there are numerous rabbunim who have endorsed any of the three candidates and many more who do not consider elections worthy of our collective attention.
I fail you understand why you care so much to stop option B and choose option C, despite whatever unknown values you claim to hold that i suppose don’t align with either. This whole letter reads like nonsense. I hope your guy wins, whoever he is…..