Longtime WABC Host Curtis Sliwa Says He’s Not Leaving New York Mayoral Race.

Less than a month ago there was speculation that Curtis Sliwa, a longtime radio host at Red Apple Media talk WABC New York (770) and the Republican nominee to be New York’s next mayor, could exit the race at the behest of well-heeled donors in favor of a job with the Trump administration.

The apparent reason? Those donors don’t think he can win, and they’re deeply driven to stop the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani.

Now, there’s an update: Sliwa isn’t going anywhere, and he could have a path to victory in the deep-blue state, especially if it turns out of be a four-way battle on Election Day, the New York Post reports.

“No one is going to bribe me from leaving the race,” he tells the Post.

Sliwa, best known as the founder of the Guardian Angels and easily identifiable via his ubiquitous red beret, is at a severe fundraising disadvantage — but still within striking distance, according to a recent HarrisX poll.

“You guys always say follow the numbers,” Sliwa says. “In a four-way race, I have a path to victory because people actually like me, and they have problems with the others.”

Sliwa, as it looks now, could square off against Mamdani, who scored a surprise primary win; Andrew Cuomo, the primary loser who resigned as governor in 2021 following an array of sexual-misconduct allegations; and the scandal-ridden incumbent, Democrat Eric Adams, who is running this fall as an independent after overwhelmingly losing Democratic support. Sliwa’s prospects look better in a four-way race.

Sliwa does, however, have a major fundraising deficit. He’s pulled in just $169,000 in the latest reporting period, dwarfed by Adams’ $1.5 million. Mamdani and Cuomo have raised considerably more.

While many in New York’s business community have turned their backs on Sliwa, he insists that he’s the true business candidate — pledging more crime prevention and ending the city’s traffic “congestion pricing,” which he says is reducing retail foot traffic and dragging down property values. He also plans to reduce taxes and downsize government, including the city’s education bureaucracy.

He’s also promised to ditch his signature red beret if elected.

“We realize that the beret is a recurring question,” he said. “When elected mayor, I will retire it.”