New York City Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa has pushed back hard against critics and pundits urging him to drop out of the race.
He told Newsmax on Wednesday that quitting isn’t in his DNA — and that he’s staying in the race to fight for “law and order, quality of life, and Republican values.”
Appearing on “Finnerty,” Sliwa delivered an impassioned defense of his campaign, dismissing low polling numbers and attacks from Democrats and establishment Republicans alike.
“Andrew Cuomo, the one that you’re flirting with, said he would leave New York City and flee to Florida” if he loses next week, Sliwa said. “I fight for what I know is right. Improve, don’t move.
“If I happen to lose to Zohran Mamdani, I become his worst nightmare.”
“I pitch my Republican flag and my law and order values, and I fight, fight, fight. That’s what Republicans do — we don’t surrender, we don’t retreat, and we don’t drop out,” he added.
Sliwa compared his resolve to that of President Donald Trump, saying that when the media and political insiders urged Trump to quit in 2016, he ignored them — and won.
“Do you remember when the New York Post had a front-page headline, ‘Donald, drop out’? Did Donald Trump drop out? No,” Sliwa said. “He fought — and became president again because he fights, fights, fights.”
The Guardian Angels founder also blasted both outgoing Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Cuomo, blaming them for the city’s decline and opening the door for front-runner Mamdani, a democratic socialist.
Sliwa insisted that quitting now would mean abandoning New Yorkers to socialist rule.
“Adams and Cuomo got us into this mess,” Sliwa said. “And you want me to jump out with a parachute?
“I’m out there 20 hours a day, every day, fighting for Republican principles, law and order, and quality of life. Maybe you like living in a city where they lock up toothpaste and don’t lock up criminals — that’s Cuomo and Mamdani’s New York.”
Sliwa pointed to his support from Rudy Giuliani and former Gov. George Pataki as proof that Republican leadership is still alive in New York.
“They know the answer is Sliwa for mayor in 2025, Elise Stefanik for governor 2026 — and we get New York City and New York State back on track,” he said.
As for the polls, Sliwa brushed them off, saying he trusts the people, not the pundits.
“You keep looking at the polls — I’ll look to the people,” Sliwa said. “One person, one vote. Let the people decide on Nov. 4.”
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