NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee for New York City mayor, has resigned from his post as a radio host over a spat with colleagues about whether he should quit the race.
Sliwa, who has held the role at 77 WABC for decades and counts on it as his primary source of income, announced Wednesday that “you will never see me in the studios of WABC again. Never. No matter how this election turns out.”
He accused his colleagues of betraying him and alleged the station was favoring former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent. The announcement came after billionaire real estate developer and 77 WABC owner John Catsimatidis urged Sliwa to withdraw from the race on Monday, adding to the mounting pressure on the Guardian Angels founder to clear the way for Cuomo to challenge frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.
A representative for Sliwa said that he had already stepped back from his job in February to focus on the November race. The Republican appeared Wednesday morning as a guest on Sid Rosenberg’s program, and the two had a tense exchange with Rosenberg criticizing Sliwa for focusing his campaign attacks on Cuomo instead of Mamdani, a democratic socialist.
“I don’t feel like you are running against Mamdani anymore,” Rosenberg told Sliwa. “This obsession with Cuomo has to stop. He’s not winning. You can beat Cuomo and still lose the election.”
Sliwa blamed the radio station for the fact he now has to have armed security because of threats against him. He insisted that he would not quit the race.
Catsimatidis, a GOP powerbroker who ran for mayor more than a decade ago, said at a press conference that Sliwa should encourage voters to come out in support of a New York that they love and for someone “other than the socialist to be mayor.”
“I’ve known Curtis for 40 years. I love Curtis, he’s a great guy,” Catsimatidis said. “We all love Curtis, but we also love New York City.”
Catsimatidis has joined other prominent donors in pushing Sliwa to abandon the race. The Republican has consistently trailed behind Democratic nominee Mamdani and independent candidate Cuomo. A Fox News poll released last week found Mamdani leading with 49% of registered voters, followed by Cuomo at 28% and Sliwa at 13%.
Sliwa earned between $250,000 and $500,000 as a talk show host, according to his 2024 Form 990 filings. If he were to cease campaigning, he would owe $4.5 million of public matching funds to the campaign finance board.
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