'Drop out or Zohran wins': Bill Ackman to Curtis Silwa; billionaire urges Republican mayoral contender to exit New York City race

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, a native of New York City, has urged Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for the city’s November 4 mayoral election, to “drop out” warning that a vote for Sliwa would effectively be “a vote for Zohran Mamdani.”

Mamdani, the Democratic Party candidate, is the odds-on favourite to succeed Eric Adams, the outgoing 110th mayor of New York City.“If Curtis Sliwa drops, Andrew Cuomo can win. If he doesn’t, we are toast,” Ackman said Friday in a post on X. Cuomo, the former governor of New York State, is running as an independent in the mayoral race.He also shared the latest predictions from polling agency PolyMarket, which show Mamdani with nearly 90 percent support.

Cuomo and Sliwa trailed with 9 percent and less than 1 percent, respectively.

The predictions came following Thursday's first debate between the three contenders.“It was not Zohran Mamdani’s debate performance. It was Curtis Sliwa’s statement after the debate that he is not leaving that has tipped the odds to 90 percent for Mamdani,” Ackman added. He has been backing Cuomo’s independent bid.

Sliwa had stated after the debate that he would remain in the race.