Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Recent polling has continued to show Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani with a sizable lead over Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s crowded mayoral race. And a new report suggests that with no clear path to victory, the former governor is banking on a boost from conservative voters who may take their marching orders from President Trump.

Politico reports that Cuomo told donors at a Saturday fundraiser in the Hamptons that voters will look beyond Guardian Angels founder and perennial Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in search of a candidate better suited to challenge Mamdani, according to audio of the event obtained by the outlet. The event was held at the Southampton home of media executive Jimmy Finkelstein. Andrew Stein, Finkelstein’s brother and former New York City Council president who co-authored a Wall Street Journaleditorial boosting Cuomo’s campaign, co-hosted the fundraiser.

“We can minimize [the Sliwa] vote, because he’ll never be a serious candidate,” Cuomo told the crowd. “And Trump himself, as well as top Republicans, will say the goal is to stop Mamdani. And you’ll be wasting your vote on Sliwa. So I feel good about that.”

Per Politico, Cuomo put a positive gloss on his long-standing relationship with Trump, suggesting that the president won’t actively try to pick a fight with him if he made it to City Hall. “Let’s put it this way: I knew the president very well,” he said. “I believe there’s a big piece of him that actually wants redemption in New York. He feels that he was rejected by New York. We voted for Hillary Clinton. Bill de Blasio took his name off things. So, I believe there will be opportunities to actually cooperate with him. I also believe that he’s not going to want to fight with me in New York if he can avoid it.”

In a statement, Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi said the former governor was simply “speculating” after being posed a hypothetical about how the election could become a two-person race. “We’re not asking for or expecting help from anyone — he also said the mayor would have to drop out and the mayor said he wasn’t going to,” he said, in reference to Mayor Eric Adams, who is running his own independent bid for reelection. “Governor Cuomo is the only chance to beat Mamdani and ensure the greatest city in the world stays the greatest city in the world.”

Politico’s reporting comes after the New York Times reported earlier this month that Trump and Cuomo had spoken over the phone and discussed the mayoral race. Both men have denied that the call took place and Cuomo has said that he would turn down an endorsement from the president. The Times has continued to stand by its reporting.

Last month, Trump claimed that he wouldn’t get involved in the mayoral race, knocking Sliwa as a perennial candidate and noting that Cuomo “has capability” but was defeated in the primary. The president has also been a consistent critic of Mamdani, calling the democratic socialist a “communist” and threatening a federal takeover of the city if he’s elected.

In response to the reported audio, Mamdani invoked the Times report, saying that New Yorkers are now “seeing the results of that collaboration.”

“At (another) Hampton’s fundraiser with Republican donors on Saturday, Andrew Cuomo said it plainly: he’s expecting Trump’s help to defeat us in November. ‘I feel good about that,’ Cuomo said. New Yorkers won’t,” Mamdani wrote on X.

Since Mamdani’s win in the Democratic mayoral primary, donors opposed to his candidacy have been faced with the difficult choice of deciding which candidate to back between Cuomo, Adams, and Sliwa. The three men have been adamant about their plans to stay in the race even as the candidates themselves have warned that a three-way split of moderate and conservative voters could potentially propel Mamdani to City Hall.

A recent Siena Institute poll found Mamdani leading the field by 44 percent of registered New York City voters, followed by 25 percent for Cuomo, 12 percent for Sliwa, and 7 percent for Adams, though the survey featured a small sample size.

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