Vote for me instead of ‘spoiler’ Sliwa to beat Zohran Mamdani

Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday directly appealed to Republicans to ditch “spoiler” GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa and vote for him instead for mayor, saying it’s the only way to thwart extremist foe Zohran Mamdani.

“The problem is Curtis Sliwa is a spoiler in the race. A vote for Curtis Sliwa is really a vote for Mamdani,” the Democratic ex-governor said on WABC 770 AM’s the “Cats Roundtable” radio program.

“Curtis cannot win,” Cuomo said. “Seventy percent of the voters are Democrats. … There’s no poll that shows him close.

“What he can do is take enough votes to make Zohran the mayor. And he is going to make Zohran the mayor” if he doesn’t pull out, Cuomo said of Sliwa.

“It will be on Curtis,” the New York City mayoral contender said. “You hear, ‘Curtis loves New York.’ No, he doesn’t. He loves Curtis.

“I want to say to your Republican listeners: Vote like a New Yorker. Don’t vote like a Republican. A vote for Curtis is a vote for Zohran. Vote like a New Yorker and stop Zohran,” Cuomo told host John Catsimatidis.

Cuomo’s plea to Republicans comes nine days before early voting kicks off Saturday ahead of the Nov. 4 Election Day. The second and final mayoral debate will be hosted on NY1 on Wednesday starting at 7 p.m.

The former governor is running out of time to catch up to Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist. Cuomo is running second behind Mamdani in the polls, while Sliwa trails them both.

Some political pundits have said Cuomo only has at shot at toppling Mamdani if Sliwa’s support collapses and all those right-leaning voters shift to the former gov.

Mamdani soundly defeated Cuomo in the June Democratic primary, so the former three-term governor is now running on an independent “Fight and Deliver” party line.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that after Mayor Eric Adams announced he would not seek re-election, much of his support shifted to Cuomo — though Mamdani still maintained a 13-point lead.

Cuomo praised Adams for putting “his ego aside” by not seeking re-election — and giving him a better shot at beating Mamdani.

But Sliwa “should be called out” for easing Mamdani’s path to victory by staying in the race, Cuomo said.

While courting Republicans, Cuomo quoted former New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who said there’s no Republican or Democratic way to pick up the garbage.

“Republicans want the city run well. … I will do that,” Cuomo said.

But Sliwa said Cuomo is the one who is being selfish by running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary and claimed that Cuomo and the Democratic establishment are to blame if Mamdani wins the mayoralty.

“Now he’s saying, ‘I can’t win without Sliwa votes.’ Where are your votes!,” Sliwa said of Cuomo on the Nate Friedman show Saturday.

The rise of Mamdani “is the result of Democrats’ self-destruction,” Sliwa said.

“So, I’m supposed to help them? How come they don’t help themselves? Andrew Cuomo failed everyone in the [Democratic] primary. He even admitted it,” Sliwa said.

“Go out and get your own votes.”