Former New York State assemblyman Dov Hikind switched his New York City mayoral race endorsement from Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa to former New York gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday, saying that the Democrat-turned-independent was the only one who could defeat New York State Rep. Zohran Mamdani.
The Sliwa stalwart said in a social media video and in a conversation with The Jerusalem Post that while it was difficult for him to change his position after endorsing the talk show host four months prior, he believed that the “very future of New York City is at stake.”
Hikind cannot see a pathway for Sliwa to seize victory amid stagnant polls, despite what he regarded as a strong debate performance on Wednesday night. Many other Republicans were faced with the same problem when considering voting for Sliwa, he said.
“We do not have the luxury of misplacing our votes. I like Curtis. I still think he would be a great mayor,” said Hikind. “But right now, there is only one person who can stop Mamdani, and that’s Andrew Cuomo.”
Cuomo had called Hikind on Friday to ask for the former assemblyman’s endorsement. Upon consideration, Hikind decided to deliver his answer to this now. He said he was upfront with Cuomo, as he was in his public statement, about his issues with the independent candidate.
Hikind said he could understand why others would also be reluctant to give Cuomo their vote, but one didn’t have to “love” the former governor to acknowledge the threat posed by Mamdani.
A 'disaster waiting to happen'
The former assemblyman said in the video that Mamdani’s policies, including free bus lines, government-operated grocery stores, and “free everything for everybody,” were a “disaster waiting to happen.”
Hikind had also noted on social media that Mamdani had affiliated himself with radical Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once said that America “deserved” the September 11 terrorist attacks, and controversial Muslim leader Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who was one of the unindicted coconspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.
The former politician said he wanted to caution the Post that Mamdani was a “radical Islamist,” and that his decision to endorse Cuomo was about “defeating a monster.”
“New York City is in a critical moment. If Mamdani wins, the future of our city is on the line,” Hikind said in his video statement. “That’s not politics. That’s reality.”
Hikind also told the Post that he thought that there was only a small chance that Sliwa would drop out of the race. That said, he did not call on the Republican candidate to withdraw, saying that this was Sliwa’s decision.
In June, Hikind had called on Cuomo and incumbent mayor Eric Adams to drop out of the election, as the city had to unite to “defeat the dangerous antisemite Mamdani.”