Zohran Mamdani under huge pressure if Sliwa drops out of New Mayoral race - new poll
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa could be the deciding factor in the largely two-horse race between Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo
A new poll of over 1,000 New Yorkers likely to vote in the upcoming mayoral election found that while Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani retains his double-digit lead over former governor Andrew Cuomo, that distance could shrink if Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa decides to drop out of the race.
The poll, conducted by AARP New York and Gotham Polling & Analytics, found that Mamdani holds 43.2% of support, followed by Cuomo with 28.9% and Sliwa with 19.4%. More than 8% of respondents remained undecided or preferred another candidate. Were Sliwa to drop out, however, a head-to-head matchup would see Mamdani's lead fall to just 3.9%, which is within the margin of error, the poll found.
The results came after a tense debate between the three leading mayoral candidates last week, during which Cuomo and Mamdani slung barbs at one another regarding their personal histories, policy records and campaign promises. Sliwa, a figure thought to be situated in the background of an otherwise two-horse race, said that he does not plan to drop out despite his low polling numbers.
The second and final debate between Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa will take place on Wednesday. It comes just ahead of the start of early voting, and about two weeks before Election Day.
While Cuomo's viability in the race hinges on Sliwa's decisions about his own campaign, Cuomo has expressed indifference about his opponent on national media programs.
"He does take a certain number of votes, and to that extent, he is a spoiler," Cuomo said of Sliwa on Fox News last week. "I believe he's, ultimately, irrelevant, because he's not a viable candidate and I don't think people are gonna throw away their vote."
"I'm not dropping out," he said. "One person, one vote. That's how we determine elections. I never heard a caveat that said one person, one vote, and of course others need to drop out along the way."
After Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race, Sliwa said on a webcast that he had communicated with Cuomo about an endorsement, one that Cuomo reportedly would welcome. "I'm in conversation with Andrew. I think it's important that we can't succumb to the far-left agenda in the city," he said.
"And so, I need to make sure if I say to New York is this is who I endorse, I need to make sure that they are not going to be harmful to the city that I love so much. So, when that time comes, I'll make an announcement."
Still, during last week's debate, Sliwa did not hold back his criticisms of Cuomo's record of governance. He particularly zeroed in on Cuomo's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as governor, referring multiple times to a 2021 report issued by New York Attorney General Letitia James that found Cuomo had understated the number of COVID-related deaths in state nursing homes by as much as 50%.