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Andrew Cuomo, Cynthia Nixon face off in testy debate

The Democratic candidates for governor sparred over government corruption, transparency and issues favored by progressives.

HEMPSTEAD - Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Cynthia Nixon engaged in a fiery debate Wednesday evening that saw the candidates spar over government corruption, transparency and who would be better to battle President Donald Trump.

Cuomo, a second-term incumbent, pledged not to run for president in 2020 during the debate at Hofstra University with Nixon, a fellow Democrat who directly and repeatedly challenged Cuomo's record on progressive issues during the hour-long moderated discussion.

The two candidates engaged in testy exchanges over who was telling the truth and what their personal finances show, but neither appeared to commit any major gaffes in what is the first and only scheduled debate of the primary.

The primary election is set for Sept. 13.

Here's a rundown of some of the issues they debated:

Experience

The first question of the debate went to Nixon, who was asked about why she's running for office and whether she has the necessary experience to be governor.

Nixon, an actor who starred in Sex and the City and is making her first run for office, pointed to her experience as a public-school parent and an activist for LGBT rights and education funding.

She quickly tried to turn the issue on Cuomo.

“I’m not an Albany insider like Governor Cuomo," Nixon said. "But I think that experience doesn't mean that much if you're not actually good at governing."

Cuomo, who is seeking a third term and has a large lead in public-opinion polls, fired back by pointing to the responsibilities of the governor, including management of a $168 billion budget and responding to natural disasters and crises.

“The governor of New York is not a job about politics, it’s not about activism," he said. "It’s about doing. This is real life."

Cuomo 2020?

Cuomo made news early in the debate, vowing to serve a full four-year term should he win in November.

He was asked: Can you promise New York voters that you would serve four years in office and not run for president if you win?

"Yes," Cuomo said. "Yes, yes and yes. Double yes."

Later, he added a caveat.

"The only caveat" — the crowd groaned — "is if God strikes me dead," Cuomo said. "Otherwise, I will serve four years as governor of the state of New York."

Battling Donald Trump

It didn't take long for Cuomo to shift the conversation to his differences with President Donald Trump.

Cuomo said he's the right person to lead resistance to the Trump administration's policies in New York.

He touted the state's recent battles with the Trump administration over immigration policy, tax reform and other issues.

"Today, you have to fight Donald Trump, who is the main risk to the state of New York," Cuomo said. "He is trying to change the rights and values of New Yorkers and the first line of defense is New York and the governor leads that fight and you need to know how to do it."

Nixon referred back to Cuomo's recent comment that America "was never that great," which drew a rebuke from Trump. Cuomo ultimately walked back the comment.

"You stood up to (Trump) about as well as he stands up to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," Nixon said.

Who is lying?

Fireworks flew when the candidates accused each other of lying.

Several times, Cuomo grew frustrated with Nixon interrupting him during his responses, which caused the two candidates to directly engage.

"Excuse me, can you stop interrupting me?" Cuomo said to Nixon.

"Can you stop lying?" Nixon responded.

"Yeah, as soon as you do," Cuomo said.

Later, Cuomo said Nixon "lives in a world of fiction" and he "lives in a world of facts."

Corruption

Cuomo was asked about the March corruption conviction of Joseph Percoco, his former top aide, campaign manager and close personal friend.

The governor said Percoco "did something wrong and it was very painful."

Cuomo laid out a series of reforms he said the state should adopt to deal with Albany corruption.

“No outside income, period," he said. "Full financial disclosure and campaign-finance reform because we have to take the money out of politics. It’s that simple.”

Nixon faulted Cuomo for not doing more to push for those changes during his eight years in office and criticized him for shutting down the Moreland Commission, an anti-corruption panel the governor had created.

Marijuana

With Nixon making marijuana legalization a key part of her campaign, moderator Maurice DuBois asked her: What would you say to parents trying to keep their children away from drugs?

Nixon called marijuana a "racial-justice issue," pointing to arrest data showing black and Latino people are arrested for using the drug at a higher rate than white people.

"What I would say is that we're not talking about children smoking marijuana," she said. "We're talking about adults and effectively, marijuana has been legal in New York for some time and it's time we made it legal for everyone."

Cuomo said marijuana use is a "personal decision."

"My children are now older and I've given them the best counseling I can," he said. "They're in their 20s and they're going to make their own decisions."

Are we human?

Cuomo repeatedly criticized Nixon over her personal taxes, which shows she collects her acting income through an entity known as an S corporation, which comes with certain tax benefits.

At one point, Cuomo went as far to call Nixon a corporation.

"You are a corporation," Cuomo said. "When you file taxes as a corporation, you are a corporation."

Nixon interjected, saying it's common for actors to form an S corporation.

"Are you a corporation?" Cuomo shot back.

"I am a person," Nixon said.

Jon Campbell is an Albany correspondent for the USA TODAY Network's Albany Bureau.

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