New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a radio interview on Friday indicated he backed having all candidates who qualified for the November statewide ballot appear on stage for a gubernatorial debate. But he added on The Capitol Pressroom that the potential sponsors of the debate wanted a one-on-one event with him and Rob Astorino, the Republican nominee.
“I don’t know how you exclude people who are legally on the ballot,” Cuomo said in the interview. “Now the sponsors of the debates, most of the invitations, say they don’t want anyone else. They just want the two people. That’s what they’re working through.”
Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins has pushed to be included in any televised debates. A Siena College poll released today shows him polling at 7 percent.
But in recent days Astorino has indicated Hawkins should be included in a debate, potentially as Republicans see the chances of the Green Party nominee capturing liberal supporters of Zephyr Teachout, the Fordham Law School professor who challenged Cuomo for the Democratic nomination this month.
“I do believe Howie Hawkins has a role in these debates,” Astorino said this week.
The only gubernatorial debate of 2010 featured every candidate who appeared on the ballot for governor, most memorably Rent Is 2 Damn High candidate Jimmy McMillan, who failed to get on the ballot this year, and the forum itself was widely criticized for devolving into a farce.
The possible candidates for the debate are:
Governor
Democratic - Andrew M. Cuomo (Working Families, Independence, Woman's Equity)
Republican - Rob Astorino (Conservative, StopCommonCore)
Green - Howie Hawkins
Libertarian - Michael McDermont
Sapient - Steve Cohn
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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