Firebrand Republican NYC Councilwoman latest in GOP to back Cuomo over Sliwa — in bid to thwart Zohran Mamdani

Anti-Zohran Mamdani Republican City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov is pulling support for “loyal friend” Curtis Sliwa — and endorsing Andrew Cuomo in the hotly contested mayor’s race, The Post has learned.

“As much as it hurts me to say this, a vote for Curtis Sliwa is a vote for Zohran Mamdani,” Vernikov told The Post on Tuesday.

The firebrand conservative councilwoman — who regularly stumped for Sliwa — added that the long-shot Republican mayoral candidate and Guardian Angels founder has been a “loyal friend” to her.

“I’m grateful for everything he’s done for the city and the Jewish community,” said Vernikov, who reps the council’s 48th District in Brooklyn. 

But Vernikov, like some other New York Republicans, including billionaire supermarket mogul John Castimatidis, is ditching the GOP’s standard-bearer to back ex-Gov. Cuomo, a veteran Democrat running as an independent.

She and the others believe a one-on-one race would boost Cuomo and help to thwart the lefty Democratic candidate’s ascendance to City Hall. 

The fierce conservative and Ukrainian-born Zionist who was first elected in 2021, said in a video exclusively obtained by The Post that the race “is not a game — it’s not about egos.

“This is beyond party lines — this is about our future.”

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Vernikov stressed in her video that Cuomo, “the guy we may not like,” is the “only one who has a shot” to defeat the “anti-American, anti-Israel, anti-cop” Mamdani, whom she called a “danger” and “existential threat.”

She stressed she still “encourages everyone to vote Republican down ballot,” including critical City Council races, “but reality is reality.”