Sparks Fly Between Andrew Cuomo & Cynthia Nixon In Debate Before New York Governor’s Primary [FULL VIDEO]

In the only debate before the election for governor of New York on September 13, Governor Andrew Cuomo and his opponent, actress Cynthia Nixon, clashed up in an heated one-hour discussion over health care policy, corruption, tax returns and standing up to President Donald Trump.

At one point, Cuomo asked Nixon, “Can you please stop interrupting?” as she talked over him. “Can you please do that?”

“If you stop lying, I will stop interrupting,” Nixon shot back.

“As soon as you do,” the governor said after a short pause.

Cuomo, who was backed up on Wednesday by former Vice President Joe Biden, portrayed himself as a leader against the president, repeatedly highlighting steps he has taken to push back against the White House. But neither candidate fell into the traps the other side tried to lay in advance. Nixon seemed knowledgable on the issues and Cuomo didn’t lose his cool or condescend to her.

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Issues both candidates disagreed on were whether public workers should have the right to strike (Nixon is in favor, Cuomo is not), single-payer health care (Nixon is in favor, Cuomo said it should be left to the federal government) and campaign finance reform (both said they were in favor, although Nixon said Cuomo had not made any reforms as governor and would not in a third term).

But both candidates were in favor of postponing a subway fare increase, although Nixon blamed Cuomo – saying that he used the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (M.T.A.) “like his A.T.M.”

According to The New York Times, polls have shown Nixon trailing badly, but her team believes they do not reflect the real political climate among Democratic voters, pointing to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s shocking defeat of Representative Joseph Crowley in New York City in June and, more recently, the nomination of Andrew Gillum, who ran as a strong progressive, for governor of Florida on Tuesday.

Watch full debate:

Article by Steven Abendroth