Andrew’s Debate Fear

H aving taken out Cynthia Nixon in the Democratic primary, Gov. Cuomo is now hoping for a clear path to victory in November’s general election against Republican Marc Molinaro — that is, as long as the two men don’t have to debate one on one.

As The Post reported, the governor was typically noncommittal about the idea of a one-on-one at an event in Lake George last Tuesday. “That’s something we have to talk about,” he insisted, hinting he might demand that third-party hopefuls be included in the debate.

Now, don’t be fooled; this is no principled stand on behalf of minor candidates. Cuomo simply knows how weak he is in head-tohead tangles.

Indeed, his shortcomings in such settings were crystal clear during his August square-off with Nixon, where he botched even his own prepared take-downs.

No, Cuomo would rather have a broad group of contenders take the spotlight off him. In 2014, recall, he refused solo debates with Democratic primary opponent Zephyr Teachout and later the GOP gubernatorial candidate, Rob Astorino.

Actually, until this year, Cuomo hasn’t agreed to a man-to-man (or man-to-woman) showdown for at least a decade.

His 2014 excuse: “Anybody who says debates are always a service to democracy hasn’t watched all the debates that I’ve been in.” (Hmm. Who’s to blame there?)

But clearly, they’re no service to him. And there’s a good reason for that: His record — on the economy, taxes, corruption, schools, the subways — is hard to defend.

And if he disagrees, let him prove it, by letting Molinaro grill him face to face, without the distractions of a bevy of wannabes clamoring for attention.