If you know a Democrat or two who’s willing to publicly support the Republican candidate for mayor, contact the campaign of Joe Lhota immediately.

Rudy had Democrats for Giuliani, so did Bloomberg, but the Lhota campaign. cannot find one prominent Democrat willing to stand up and lead the beyond-party outreach effort, the Daily News reports.

“Joe and the campaign call people, ask them to do it, and they decline,” a Republican insider told the Daily News. “A, the campaign is too far back in the polls and B, they’re afraid of the de Blasio retribution over the next four years.”

“People are sincere when they say, ‘I’d love to help you … but I can’t get fired,’ or ‘I can’t risk going before the City Council and not being able to get what I need because the [future] mayor then says [I’m] not going to get it,’ ” the Republican insider said.

The Orthodox Jewish community that backed Giuliani, Bloomberg and Pataki, are also finding it very hard coming out in support of Mr. Lhota, who himself is a Jew according to the Halacha.

“Are we impressed with Lhota’s ideas and policies? Yes! But so far he hasn’t convinced us he can beat de Blasio,” a prominent Jewish community leader told YWN. “We can’t risk the future of our organizations and institutions.”

Lhota spokeswoman Jessica Proud downplayed the development, saying Mr. Lhota is “taking a very grassroots approach” to courting broader support.

“We have been building coalitions in the Jewish community, [in] the Hispanic community and in the Asian community, encompassing both Democratic and independent voters,” she said.

“Are the polls a challenge? Of course they are. But that doesn’t mean there is not a very robust organization that’s happening.”

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)