Why a failed candidacy risks giving Zohran Mamdani the keys to City Hall

By: TJV Editorial Board

As the 2025 New York City mayoral race barrels toward a critical juncture, one fact has become painfully clear: Curtis Sliwa’s continued presence in this contest serves no meaningful purpose—except to siphon votes away from serious challengers and pave a clear path for the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) most controversial figure, Zohran Mamdani.

It is time for Curtis Sliwa to step aside.

Poll after poll confirms what political observers have long suspected: Sliwa’s support has cratered. In a crowded race featuring formidable candidates such as Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams, and Mamdani, Sliwa lags at the bottom of every credible survey. Media outlets have noted with increasing frequency that the Republican contender stands little to no chance of securing a viable coalition—especially as conservative voters express unease with his lack of gravitas and his checkered record.

But this is about more than numbers. It’s about strategy—and the future of New York City.

By stubbornly remaining in the race, Sliwa risks splitting the anti-socialist vote, thereby handing Mamdani a golden opportunity to slip into Gracie Mansion on a divided opposition. The Jewish Voice has documented the groundswell of concern within Jewish and pro-Israel circles over Mamdani’s rise—a candidate who refuses to disavow the incendiary slogan “Globalize the Intifada,” who has aligned himself with BDS, and who has shown little interest in protecting New York’s Jewish community from rising antisemitic attacks.

The prospect of a Mamdani mayoralty is not a theoretical threat. His victory would usher in a radical socialist agenda that would wreak havoc on a city already buckling under the weight of economic uncertainty, a crime surge, and social fragmentation. His proposals—ranging from rent freezes and city-operated supermarkets to slashing the NYPD’s budget and hiking taxes in “whiter, wealthier” neighborhoods—read like a blueprint for urban decay.

And yet, Sliwa—by clinging to a quixotic and self-serving campaign—risks making this nightmare scenario a reality.

Exposés of Sliwa’s long and embarrassing record of fabrications underscores why his candidacy was never a credible option. His decades-old admission to the Associated Press that he fabricated stories about fake kidnappings, staged assaults, and invented subway heroics revealed a man more interested in building his brand than serving the public. His Don Quixote defense—that he was merely a “little person trying to get recognition”—did nothing to rehabilitate his image. Instead, it confirmed what many suspected: Curtis Sliwa’s primary allegiance has always been to Curtis Sliwa.

The Guardian Angels may have made headlines, but their actual impact on crime was negligible at best. Sliwa’s true talent has always been self-promotion, not public service. His forays into radio and media kept him in the spotlight, but they did nothing to prepare him for the complexities of governance in the world’s most demanding city.

His 2021 mayoral bid was a parade of clichés, cat anecdotes, and simplistic crime rhetoric—a campaign that ended in a predictable defeat. He offered no serious plans on housing, no vision for economic growth, and no understanding of public finance. Sliwa’s run felt more like a publicity stunt than a legitimate effort to lead a city in crisis.

And now, with New York at a political crossroads, the Republican Party has once again turned to this political performance artist—ignoring a glaring reality: Sliwa is a spoiler, not a solution.

Where is the bench of credible Republican candidates with actual experience in city governance, public safety, or economic reform? Where are the business leaders, civic reformers, and neighborhood advocates ready to chart a pragmatic path forward? Instead of elevating a serious voice, the GOP continues to hitch its hopes to a man whose career has been defined by fiction and farce.

This is not just electoral malpractice—it is political cowardice.

The New York Post has been right to highlight the looming threat of Mamdani’s radicalism. His ties to anti-Israel activism, his flirtations with extremist rhetoric, and his socialist platform have made him a uniquely dangerous candidate in a city already struggling with a dangerous increase in antisemitism, crime, and economic uncertainty.

A Mamdani victory would empower a radical faction eager to dismantle the very institutions that sustain this city’s vitality. His policies would scare off investment, crush small businesses under regulatory burdens, embolden anti-police agitators, and deepen ethnic and racial divisions.

And Curtis Sliwa is helping him do it.

By remaining in the race, Sliwa fractures the anti-Mamdani coalition—a coalition that must remain unified if New Yorkers are to prevent the far-left from capturing City Hall. Every vote for Sliwa is a vote siphoned away from a serious contender who could actually challenge Mamdani in the general election.

If Curtis Sliwa truly cares about the future of New York—and not just his media profile—he must acknowledge political reality. His numbers are dismal. His campaign is dead in the water. His continued presence only serves Mamdani’s interests.

Even Sliwa’s most loyal backers cannot point to a path that leads him to victory. His candidacy is not a statement of principle. It is a vanity project.

For once, he should put the city ahead of himself.

By stepping aside now, Sliwa can allow a real contender—whether that be Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams, or a yet-to-emerge independent candidate—to consolidate the anti-socialist vote and prevent New York from falling into the hands of a radical ideologue.

The stakes are too high for ego-driven politics.

New York needs leadership, not sideshows. We need serious candidates with serious ideas to steer this city back from the brink. Curtis Sliwa is not that candidate. He never was. And if he remains in this race, he will bear a share of the blame if Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor.

The New York Post has sounded the alarm. The time for games is over. Curtis Sliwa should do the honorable thing—and get out of the race.