years of corporate taxes -- dumped them in three hours on a Friday with no notice. Only Donald Trump has done less transparency on his taxes than my opponent."

The debaters did manage at least one memorable note of agreement: They both turned down an opportunity to say they wanted the endorsement of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a longtime public foe of Cuomo but friend and ally of Nixon.

"I love Mayor de Blasio; I'm sure he loves me," Cuomo said to laughter -- at least in the press filing center -- when asked. "In a strange sort of way. After 30 years we have a dysfunctional relationship. He makes his own political decisions, not me."

For every jab he landed during the debate, Cuomo might have done moredamage in the days before it. On Tuesday, the campaign rolled out a new ad featuring former Vice President Joe Biden, who says, "I've known Andrew for over 20 years. I know he's got skills, guts and experience."

Then, in a bit of pre-debate gamesmanship on Wednesday afternoon, Cuomo's campaign unveiled another ad -- which aired right before the debate -- featuring old clips of Nixon praising the governor before she decided to run against him. The move also underlined the fundraising disparity between the two. Nixon has not run a single television ad, instead spending primarily on digital outreach and voter turnout efforts.

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Nixon has criticized Cuomo