Andrew Cuomo, Cynthia Nixon To Face Off In Debate

NEW YORK, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo and actress Cynthia Nixon will face off in a debate ahead of the Sept. 13 Democratic primary for governor, their campaigns said Monday. Cuomo's camp said the second-term governor plans to take on Nixon, the onetime "Sex and the City" star turned left-wing gubernatorial hopeful, after she challenged him to a one-on-one debate sponsored by WABC.

Nixon said she accepted the TV network's invitation because she wants voters to hear "the difference between my progressive vision for this state, and Governor Cuomo’s centrist record." Her campaign noted that Cuomo only joined group debates with as many as seven general election candidates in his 2010 and 2014 campaigns.

"What’s it going to be Andrew? Just you and me, on a stage?" Nixon said in a video posted online Monday. "No huge multi-candidate free-for-all like you always insist on. One on one. No distractions, nowhere to hide."

Cuomo campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said the governor will debate Nixon before the primary but didn't commit to a one-on-one format.

"The people of NY deserve a robust, detailed debate on the issues that matter most," Smith said in a tweet.

WABC could not be reached for details about the televised debate.

The debate will come amid amid an aggressive campaign in which Nixon has assailed the incumbent governor as an entrenched establishment politician and Cuomo surrogates have criticized Nixon's lack of political experience.

Nixon faces an uphill battle against the governor — a poll published last week showed voters favored Cuomo by 22 percentage points.

(Lead image: Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks in Manhattan on May 1, 2018. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)