Rudy Giuliani is seen during the Republican National Convention Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Anthony Carbonetti, Giuliani’s former chief of staff and a senior adviser to his 2008 presidential campaign, echoed Lhota's sentiment.
While praising Sliwa as a "great New Yorker," Carbonetti said the math simply isn’t there for him to win the race. Instead, they warned, Sliwa risks becoming a spoiler.
"I don’t want a socialist in charge of a $116 billion city budget," he said, criticizing Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for fare-free buses as an invitation to turn them into "mobile homeless shelters."
CUOMO OPPONENTS SLAM HIS RE-ENTRY INTO NYC MAYOR RACE, SAY CITY WANTS TO MOVE ON FROM EX GOVERNOR
Former Gov. Cuomo is also seeking the mayorship for New York City in this fall's election against self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani. (Getty)
"Look, I’m a Republican, but Curtis is not exactly prime time," Trump said on Fox & Friends in September.
"Joe Lhota has been a Democrat since 2016. He worked for Andrew Cuomo. Big deal," said Sliwa adviser Rob Cole.
Rudy Giuliani himself, now 81 and still a fixture in GOP politics, has yet to make an endorsement.
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Polling shows Mamdani with about a 20-point lead, but under 50 percent and leaving room for an upset if Cuomo can consolidate Republican and independent voters.
Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/giuliani-allies-turn-gops-sliwa-back-cuomo-nyc-mayor-race