ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo has yet to agree to a debate with his opponents with less than three weeks to go before Election Day as a new poll Thursday showed him maintaining a large lead.
Cuomo, a Democrat, led Republican opponent Marc Molinaro by 23 percentage points among likely voters polled by Quinnipiac University, picking up 58 percent to Molinaro's 35 percent.
The poll comes as Cuomo continues to face criticism from his opponents for not yet agreeing to a debate with Molinaro or the three third-party candidates, who were not included in Thursday's poll.
As Election Day draws nearer, good-government advocates fear Cuomo may ultimately deny his opponents a chance to debate at all, much like his father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo, did to soon-to-be-Gov. George Pataki in 1994.
Cuomo's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether he will debate.
'Disservice to voters'
Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College, said front-running candidates are often apprehensive to debate, which can provide a platform for an unforced error that could cut into their lead.
"To guard against that, those in the lead usually say no, and the governor has done that," Zaino said. "I have a real, real problem with a race for governor of New York state without one general election debate. It's a real disservice to voters."
Cuomo agreed to a single debate this year against his Democratic primary against Cynthia Nixon, which was held at Hofstra University in August.
He participated in general election debates during his successful runs for governor in 2010 and 2014, though none were one-on-one with the Republican candidate. Instead, all third party candidates were included.
This year, the three third-party candidates — Howie Hawkins of the Green Party, Stephanie Miner of the Serve America Movement and Larry Sharpe of the Libertarian Party — have all called for debates that will allow them to participate.
In an interview last week, Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive, said he has agreed to a number of debates and was waiting for Cuomo to do the same.
"At the end of the day, New Yorkers deserve it," he said. "I think we have got to stop playing by (Cuomo's) rules."
On Thursday, the New York Post featured Cuomo's reluctance to debate on its cover, Photoshopping him into a chicken suit alongside the headline: "WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF, GOV?"
The state League of Women Voters has actively been trying to set up a debate for all the gubernatorial candidates, but the group's program and policy director Jennifer Wilson acknowledged that "everyone is apprehensive to do anything without having Cuomo there."
The group launched an online fundraiser Thursday to raise money to livestream a debate in which all candidates for governor would be invited to participate. The debate would go on with whatever candidates accept.
"We can't not have a debate," Wilson said. "It's as basic as getting your sample ballot ahead of Election Day. You need to know where all the candidates stand on the issues and of course we need to have all candidates there."
Lead in polls
The Quinnipiac poll on Thursday showed Cuomo is in a strong position to win a third term.
He has a 51 percent approval rating among likely voters, but has a strong 77 percent rating among Democrats, who outnumber Republicans in New York by more than two to one.
Cuomo struggled in the poll in upstate New York, where Molinaro led 52 percent to 41 percent. But Cuomo cleaned up in New York City, where he was backed by 77 percent of voters polled, and did well in the city's suburbs, where 52 percent of voters back him.
The incumbent governor was also backed strongly by non-white voters: 77 percent of those polled backed Cuomo. Among white voters, Cuomo had support from 48 percent to Molinaro's 46 percent.
Absent a debate with Cuomo, Molinaro called on the media to provide other avenues for the remaining candidates to get their message out.
"The media ought to be creating venues where if (Cuomo) doesn't want to participate, others get to," he said.
Miner, the former Syracuse mayor making an independent bid for governor, said she "(stands) ready to debate the candidates for governor."
"Citizens deserve to hear from people who want to be elected to public office," she said. "Debates are a healthy and necessary part of democracy.”
Jon Campbell is a correspondent for the USA TODAY Network's Albany Bureau.