Republican Rep. Mike Lawler gave Andrew Cuomo a plug for mayor, saying the Democratic ex-governor has a better shot to topple Zohran Mamdani than GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa.
“In this instance between Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo? It’s not even close,” Lawler said on 77 WABC’s “Sid & Friends” program Wednesday morning.
Lawler — who’s 17th District sits just north of the city — has been a staunch critic of Cuomo, particularly his handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He even called Cuomo a “lying sack of s–t” over the then-governor’s comments about his controversial March 2020 edict that directed nursing homes to admit or readmit COVID-infected patients released from hospitals.
But he said Cuomo, running for mayor as an independent, was the “lesser of two evils” because Mamdani, the socialist Democratic nominee, is too dangerous to run City Hall.
“This is about the s–ttiest choice I’ve seen in a mayor’s race — and that’s saying something,” Lawler told host Sid Rosenberg.
Mamdani’s prior statements championing defunding the police, decriminalizing prostitution, bashing Israel and spewing “anti-semitic tropes” — such as comparing the NYPD to the Israel Defense Forces — and his plan to raise taxes by billions of dollars are reckless and disqualifying, Lawler said.
He also called Mamdani’s recent press conference focusing on Islamophobia instead of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans “disgusting.”
The bottom line, the congressman said, is that Sliwa is polling in the mid-teens, which means the Republican candidate can only split the anti-Mamdani vote with Cuomo, assuring a victory for the far-left Queens assemblyman.
“At the end of the day, it’s not about party,” Lawler said, adding what happens in New York City “has a tremendous impact” on his constituents.
“New Yorkers have a choice — either have a Marxist, socialist as mayor who doesn’t give a shit about the Jews, who thinks 9/11 is some prop to be used to make himself the victim, or an alternative.”
He also called Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul “dumber than a box of rocks” for endorsing Mamdani.
Lawler’s purple district is home to many city cops and firefighters, financial service employees and a significant Orthodox Jewish population who detest Mamdani’s Israel-bashing views.
The bombshell endorsement from Lawler — who is expected to face a tough re-election fight next year — came just hours after Brooklyn Republican City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov ditched Sliwa for Cuomo.
Her 48th district includes communities with significant Jewish residents opposed to Mamdani — Gravesend, Coney Island-Sea Gate, Brighton Beach, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach and Gerritsen Beach.
