Gillibrand and Long Clash in Debate for U.S. Senate Pool Photo by Tim Roske Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, a Democrat, faced off against Wendy E. Long, a Republican, on Wednesday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand and her Republican challenger, Wendy E. Long, left their first and only debate on Wednesday in agreement on one issue: There was little that they agreed about. On matters like drilling for natural gas and reducing gun violence, Ms. Gillibrand and Ms. Long, a Manhattan lawyer, offered two very different approaches for New York voters to choose between in a Senate race that has attracted little statewide attention. Ms. Gillibrand, a Democrat from Rensselaer County who has a wide lead in polls and an impressive fund-raising account, sought to project confidence and rarely acknowledged her opponent by name. But Ms. Long came out swinging, attacking Ms. Gillibrand from the first minutes of the program and frequently interrupting her over the course of the debate. The hourlong debate, which was hosted by the cable networks NY1 and YNN and held at Skidmore College, was perhaps the best opportunity for Ms. Long to attract attention to her long-shot candidacy. But no moment in the program appeared to change Ms. Gillibrand's status as a clear front-runner. One of their more personal clashes came over women's issues like abortion rights and access to contraception, topics that occupied a large chunk of the debate. Ms. Gillibrand suggested that Republicans in Congress were seeking to trample on women's rights and that electing Ms. Long would further enable their efforts. But Ms. Long said Ms. Gillibrand was portraying herself as a crusader for women only as a means of "trying to distract attention from her terrible record on jobs and the economy." "I can't believe we are spending this much time talking about these issues when the people of New York are out of work," Ms. Long said. Ms. Long also confronted Ms. Gillibrand over the sexual harassment scandal that has consumed Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, a Brooklyn Democrat, at one point ignoring a question about health care to return to the subject. She urged Ms. Gillibrand to join her, onstage, in calling for the resignation of the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, for agreeing to a confidential settlement using taxpayer money. Ms. Gillibrand, who has called for Mr. Lopez's resignation, declined to do so and cited the continuing investigation by prosecutors and the state ethics commission. But she called the allegations against Mr. Lopez "outrageous" and "disgraceful" and added, "My view is Vito Lopez should have paid those fines himself - taxpayer money should not have been used." The candidates also took different views on fiscal issues, with Ms. Long pressing for spending cuts and no tax increases and Ms. Gillibrand criticizing that view as inflexible. "We can cut spending, but we have to do it precisely and carefully," the senator said. We cannot have a slash-only approach, as my opponent has. Ms. Long interjected: "What would you cut? Can you suggest something you'd cut? Ms. Gillibrand did not respond. Hydraulic fracturing, a controversial form of natural gas extraction, was another major point of division. Ms. Gillibrand called the technique, known as fracking, "a significant economic opportunity," but she struck a position similar to that of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, saying officials first needed to "understand the facts" before proceeding with drilling. "One of the many things we have going for us in New York State is we have clean drinking water," Ms. Gillibrand said. We have to make sure that we can protect that drinking water. But Ms. Long said there "aren't any health risks" with the drilling and suggested the state was missing out on an urgent opportunity to create jobs upstate. "All these concerns that you cite are just phony concerns," Ms. Long said. This thing has been studied; it has been completely studied. A lightning round of questions from the moderators, Errol Louis of NY1 and Liz Benjamin of YNN, revealed the few areas where Ms. Long agreed with Ms. Gillibrand, who was appointed to the Senate in 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton and easily won election the following year to complete Mrs. Clinton's term. Both women said there should not be a national ban on large sugary drinks. Both declined to describe Mr. Cuomo as the best New York governor in their lifetimes. And both said they had not read the erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey."