Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa kept busy throughout Election Day on Tuesday, with the red beret-wearing Guardian Angels founder hopping between different polling sites and campaigning with GOP officials.
Sliwa is polling last out of the race’s three major candidates — he is running against Democratic nominee and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens) and independent candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost to Mamdani in the primary. Mamdani is leading Cuomo in most polls by double digits, while both Cuomo and Mamdani remain well ahead of Sliwa, who is polling between 10 and 25%.
Despite an increasingly narrow path to victory, Sliwa plugged away on Tuesday as New Yorkers went to the polls.
In the morning, he accompanied his wife, Nancy Sliwa, to cast her ballot on the Upper West Side. Curtis Sliwa, who is running on both the Republican and Protect Animals lines, wore a tie featuring cats and emphasized his continued dedication to animal rights.
A few minutes after 10 a.m., Sliwa called in live to the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC to encourage New Yorkers to get out the vote.
“I would urge everybody to vote, even if they’re not voting for me,” Sliwa said on the Lehrer Show. “I would suggest you vote for me. But please, whatever you do, vote, vote, vote.”
Lehrer asked Sliwa for his thoughts on the ballot proposals related to housing — proposals two through four, which aim to fast-track approval for new affordable housing developments by removing certain powers of City Council members and community input — Sliwa said he was against the idea.
“Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani are helping developers and realtors,” Sliwa said. “I’m standing with the people.”
Sliwa has taken heat in the final stretch of the election from anti-Mamdani Cuomo supporters who view the Republican candidate as a “spoiler” for Cuomo’s candidacy — some hypothetical polls of a two-way race show Cuomo approaching Mamdani in the polls, or even eking out a win. Cuomo has repeatedly called on Sliwa to drop out to improve his own chances of beating Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist.
When asked on CNN on Saturday whether he would have “any regrets” if Mamdani won and ran the city “like a communist,” Sliwa responded, “Why should I have regrets?”
“I trust people. People are going to make the choice. I’ll live with the choice. I’d like them to choose me. But if, perchance, I lose on Nov. 4, I will improve, not move. I will lead the opposition, I will organize against any of the initiatives that are not in the best interest of people,” Sliwa said. “I was born in this city. I was almost killed in this city. I’ll die in this city. I’ll be buried in this city.”
After his radio appearance, Sliwa headed to Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx to campaign with Council Member Kristy Marmorato (R-Bronx) before greeting voters at P.S. 193 in Whitestone, Queens. Sliwa then campaigned with City Council candidate Alicia Vaichunas and Queens County GOP Chairman Tony Nunziato at P.S. 49 in Middle Village.
Sliwa joined Council Member Vickie Paladino (R-Queens) for a press availability, during which the Republican candidate criticized Trump’s endorsement of Cuomo.
“He’s the guy who said that Andrew Cuomo was a lousy governor, and during COVID, in the lockdown,” Sliwa said.
Still in Queens, Sliwa headed to campaign with City Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who has been a vocal supporter of Sliwa’s throughout the campaign, at P.S. 207 in Howard Beach. He then campaigned with Queens GOP Chairman Tony Nunziato at P.S. 114 in Belle Harbor.
Later in the afternoon, Sliwa was slated to greet voters at P.S. 4 and P.S. 55 in Staten Island before heading to St. Dominick’s School with State Senator Steve Chan (R-Brooklyn) in Brooklyn. Sliwa planned to close the day of campaigning with a 7 p.m. stop with Republican candidate for City Council George Sarantopoulos at P.S. 264.
Voting remains open until 9 p.m. Tuesday evening at all polling sites in New York City. To find your polling site, visit vote.nyc.
