Cuomo’s camp wants Sliwa to follow Adams, which could give the former governor the best chance against Mamdani. However, Sliwa has opposed efforts to get him to drop out.

“I don’t surrender,” Sliwa said at a campaign stop earlier this week in response to pressure for him to exit the race. “I don’t retreat.”

Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit organization focused on unarmed crime prevention, said he has received large bribes to drop out, but he has declined them and threatened to name names if the offers continue. However, public pressure has continued to mount, especially from the Cuomo campaign and the former governor’s supporters.

Former independent candidate Jim Walden framed Sliwa’s possibly dropping out as “saving New York.”

“Curtis Sliwa Can Save New York. Become the true HERO, ⁦@CurtisSliwa⁩!!” Walden posted on Tuesday on X.

The New York Daily News editorial board, which endorsed Cuomo in the primary, also urged Sliwa to drop out, with one headline saying, “Adams was right to drop out of NYC mayoral election. Now it’s Curtis Sliwa’s turn.”

Among Sliwa’s most high-profile supporters, there have been hints of unrest. John Catsimatidis, a Republican billionaire and close friend of Sliwa, said last Sunday that Sliwa should “do the right thing” if his campaign isn’t generating momentum.

“I would say to Curtis, if he wants to run, to keep running another week, two weeks, three weeks,” Catsimatidis said Sunday night on WABC radio. “But if he reaches a point that he feels that he’s not turning it around, then at some point he should do the right thing.”

In response to Catsimatidis’s comments, Sliwa said, “John knows me as well as anybody. I don’t drop out for anybody.”

President Donald Trump has expressed belief that Cuomo is the best person to beat Mamdani, whom he has called a communist. However, he’s also acknowledged the possibility of a Mamdani mayoralty, saying it would be a “gift” to Republicans.

The pressure from Trump has also not yet buckled Sliwa, who told the New York Times that he doesn’t expect Trump to back him and said he isn’t “aligned with all of the MAGA principles.” He acknowledged that Trump knows Cuomo and has spoken with him.

“He certainly has talked with Andrew Cuomo, whom he’s known for years. You know, I don’t often agree with Eric Adams, but Cuomo is a snake and a liar. I’d like to strap him up to a lie-detector test,” Sliwa told the outlet.

If Sliwa does drop out, his supporters could flock to Cuomo, giving the former governor a better chance. However, it’s unclear whether that would be enough for Cuomo to beat Mamdani. A recent Fox News poll showed that Mamdani had 47% support, Cuomo had 29%, Sliwa had 11%, and Adams had 7%.

Cuomo would tie with Mamdani if he could convert all of the support from Sliwa and Adams. However, absent Sliwa’s support, he wouldn’t be close to beating Mamdani.

Democratic strategist Max Burns told the Washington Examiner that he is skeptical Sliwa will drop out because he has expressed a belief in his agenda and has held firm so far. Burns also took a moment to admire Sliwa’s interest in using cats to control the rat population in the city.

NYC MAYOR RACE DOWN TO THREE CANDIDATES

“Dropping out is an acknowledgement that you never cared that much about what you were supposedly fighting for,” Burns said. “I like to think Sliwa believes in his agenda, even if I disagree with most of it.”

“Besides cat patrols,” he noted, “that’s f***ing based.”