Nixon hope: Gov will take de-bait
ALBANY – New York’s political circles will be focused Wednesday on the one and only debate between Gov. Cuomo and his Democratic primary challenger, Cynthia Nixon.
For Nixon, the debate likely represents her best chance to close the polls that show her trailing by 30 points.
Sources close to her and other political observers believe she will come into the Channel 2 debate armed with one-liners aimed at the governor in hopes of getting the notoriously prickly Cuomo off his game.
"She needs to do something that will change the dynamic of this race,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. “She presumably is going to try and get him to make a gaffe. That is something that would absolutely make sense in her playbook.”
At the same time, the actress best known for her role as Miranda Hobbes on “Sex and the City” will have to show she can competently discuss issues facing the state and is ready to manage a complex state government with a roughly $170 billion budget.
"She needs to give people a reason not just to support her, but also not support the guy they’re inclined to support,” Greenberg said.
Political insiders, including some of her supporters, were surprised that after Cuomo turned down a debate with Nixon on NY1, she rejected an offer by the station to appear for an hour without the governor. “This is completely confounding and makes no political sense,” tweeted Dem political consultant Neal Kwatra, who in the past worked for the Cuomo campaign.
Those backing Cuomo say it’s a sign she’s unprepared to discuss issues in detail, preferring to stick to soundbites.
And those close to Cuomo say what they have been saying throughout the campaign— he has to maintain his cool, focus on his accomplishments and treat her with respect. “He simply can’t take the bait,” said one Cuomo insider. “She’s an actress. She can deliver a line. He has to be able to shrug it off.”
In negotiating the terms with CBS, which will televise the debate on affiliates statewide, Cuomo demanded the candidates be seated behind desks.
Sources say sitting will ensure that Cuomo isn’t towering over his female challenger. Republican Rick Lazio made headlines at his U.S. Senate debate with Hillary Clinton in 2000 when he walked over to her lectern, aggressively insisting she sign a pledge to forgo soft money.
Cuomo has not had a oneon-one debate since he ran for attorney general against Republican Jeanine Pirro in 2006.
For Cuomo, veteran political observers say, it is not necessarily about winning the debate, as long as he doesn’t make any costly mistakes that Nixon can capitalize on for the rest of the campaign — like his recent statement that “America was never great” as he chided President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.