Joe Lhota, Giuliani\u2019s former deputy mayor and the GOP\u2019s 2013 mayoral candidate, confirmed to the New York Post <\/a>Thursday he is firmly in Cuomo\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n Lhota, who later served as Cuomo\u2019s MTA chairman and has since changed his party affiliation to Democrat, framed the choice bluntly.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s a choice between a proven manager, a socialist, and a fruit loop,” Lhota told the outlet.<\/p>\n “Of course I\u2019m going to be with Andrew,” Lhota added.<\/p>\n CUOMO OPPONENTS SLAM HIS RE-ENTRY INTO NYC MAYOR RACE, SAY CITY WANTS TO MOVE ON FROM EX GOVERNOR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Rudy Giuliani is seen during the Republican National Convention Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee.\u00a0 (AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)<\/p>\n Anthony Carbonetti, Giuliani\u2019s former chief of staff and a senior adviser to his 2008 presidential campaign, echoed Lhota’s sentiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n While praising Sliwa as a “great New Yorker,” Carbonetti said the math simply isn\u2019t there for him to win the race. Instead, they warned, Sliwa risks becoming a spoiler.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t want a socialist in charge of a $116 billion city budget,” he said, criticizing Zohran Mamdani\u2019s proposal for fare-free buses as an invitation to turn them into “mobile homeless shelters.”<\/p>\n CUOMO OPPONENTS SLAM HIS RE-ENTRY INTO NYC MAYOR RACE, SAY CITY WANTS TO MOVE ON FROM EX GOVERNOR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Andrew Cuomo, New York City mayoral candidate and former New York Governor, speaks during a press conference on August 4, 2025, in New York City. (ANGELA WEISS\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who served under George W. Bush<\/a> and is a longtime Giuliani ally, also endorsed Cuomo in an op-ed published by the\u00a0Staten Island Advance.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Our city should not be put at risk of irreversible damage, which it would be if Mamdani is elected,” he wrote, adding that Cuomo is “the most viable alternative.”<\/p>\n Mayor Eric Adams has already stunned the political world by announcing he will not seek re-election. President Donald Trump has also publicly dismissed Sliwa\u2019s chances.<\/p>\n CUOMO, ADAMS TRADE SHOTS OVER WHO SHOULD DROP OUT IN RACE AGAINST MAMDANI FOR NYC MAYOR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n 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)<\/p>\n “Look, I\u2019m a Republican, but Curtis is not exactly prime time,” Trump said on Fox & Friends<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n “Joe Lhota has been a Democrat since 2016. He worked for Andrew Cuomo. Big deal,” said Sliwa adviser Rob Cole.<\/p>\n Rudy Giuliani himself, now 81 and still a fixture in GOP politics<\/a>, has yet to make an endorsement.<\/p>\n![\"Rudy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RNC-Donald-Trump-Day-2_03.jpg\")
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