NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo and former “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon will face off Wednesday in their only scheduled debate before New York’s democratic primary next month. CBS2 is hosting the debate at Hofstra University on Long Island, and viewers can tune in at 7 p.m. Incumbent Cuomo told CBS2 he’s been preparing “by governing.” Meanwhile, challenger Nixon is focused on getting her message to voters. “I’m doing what I’ve done all this campaign. I’m going to voters and I’m talking to them about the issues that they care most about,” she said. Both teams have been practicing for the debate, hoping to use the opportunity to score points with voters. More: Gov. Andrew Cuomo & Challenger Cynthia Nixon To Square Off In 1-On-1 Debate Airing On CBS2 Cuomo’s likely strategy will be touting his record – his big infrastructure push building airports and bridges, and passing laws including same-sex marriage and gun reform. Nixon is expected to attack the governor, blaming him for the deteriorating mass transit system and corruption in Albany. In the run-up to the debate, the pair traded barbs Tuesday about a campaign donation Cuomo received a decade ago from President Donald Trump. “I am here to call on Andrew Cuomo to return the $64,000 he has had donated to him by Donald Trump,” said Nixon. “I’m not giving Donald Trump back his money,” Cuomo said. “I am focused on defeating Donald Trump, I’m not going to help him.” The most recent polls have Cuomo ahead of Nixon, whose camp has been critical of the governor for only agreeing to a single debate. Voters will cast their ballots on September 13.<doc-sep>In a stunning move, Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed to debate Democrat challenger Cynthia Nixon on Monday, after she spent months pressing the incumbent to agree to a face-off. The forum is set for Aug. 29 at Hofstra U. and will air live on WCBS-TV and other CBS stations around the state, according to the Cuomo-controlled state Democratic Party. The Nixon campaign quickly agreed to the debate, even though it said it had no role in negotiating the debate’s rules. “Cynthia will debate Governor Cuomo backwards and in high heels if she has to,” said top Nixon strategist Rebecca Katz. The actress-turned-activist has repeatedly pressed Cuomo for such a forum — and had previously accepted debate proposals from two other New York City stations: WABC-TV and NY1. It’s a dramatic reversal for Cuomo, who refused to debate his 2014 opponent in the Democratic primary, Zephyr Teachout, and hasn’t debated a major opponent one-on-one in at least a decade. Debate always included minor party candidates.<doc-sep>For all his campaign ads painting him as a fearless warrior taking on President Trump, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is apparently afraid to take on his own primary challenger unless everything is rigged in his favor. Meaning a single one-on-one debate in a location and format of his choosing, at a time when as few voters as possible watch. Indeed, opponent Cynthia Nixon says her campaign was given no input on the arrangements, and was presented the terms on “a take-it-or-leave-it basis.” She took it, so they’ll face off Aug. 29 at Hofstra on WCBS, Ch. 2. And, at Cuomo’s insistence, both candidates will be seated. According to Team Nixon, CBS management openly admitted that the only way to get Cuomo to show up (he failed to respond to two other debate invites) was to give him “everything he wanted.” Neither the governor nor CBS has disputed the Nixon camp’s account of the “negotiations,” which sure sounds like the notorious control-freak Cuomo’s M.O. Even that is an improvement over four years ago, when the governor refused to face off against challenger Zephyr Teachout, calling debates “a disservice to democracy.” Back during his own first run for governor in 2002, however, he deemed debates a “good, honest discussion of the issues.” Cuomo’s attitude plainly changes depending on his poll numbers. Still, Nixon says she’s ready to debate Cuomo “backwards and in high heels if she has to.” Great — let’s bring it on.<doc-sep>
Andrew Cuomo. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images After months of ignoring Cynthia Nixon’s requests for a debate, New York governor Andrew Cuomo finally agreed on Monday. According to the New York Daily News, Cuomo agreed to debate Nixon on August 29 on CBS. The debate comes during a heated primary race for governor between Nixon and Cuomo. The announcement was made by the chair of the state Democratic Party, Buffalo mayor Byron Brown. The debate will reportedly be one hour long and hosted on Long Island at Hofstra University. A source told the Daily News that the debate will be moderated by CBS’s Maurice DuBois and Marcia Kramer. A press release posted to Cynthia Nixon’s website stated that “Cuomo has agreed to participate in a debate hosted by WCBS, with the format and all of the details negotiated in advance, then presented to our campaign on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.” “CBS management has acknowledged that the only way to get Governor Cuomo to show up is by giving him everything he wants. We weren’t even given a seat at the table,” read the statement. “Cynthia will debate Governor Cuomo backwards and in high heels if she has to,” the statement concluded, reiterating previous sentiments that Nixon is serious about her run for governor. Nixon is one of many women in 2018 who have run Democratic primary campaigns to unseat an established incumbent. Other anti-Establishment Democratic candidates — such as Zephyr Teachout, Julia Salazar, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — have pushed their opponents and members of Democratic leadership further left on certain topics. This will be Governor Cuomo’s first one-on-one debate in 12 years.