Gov. Cuomo, Cynthia Nixon to debate at Hofstra on Aug. 29

Finally, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and challenger Cynthia Nixon will square off in a televised debate, set for Hofstra University on Aug. 29, two weeks before the Democratic primary.

Cuomo, who had rebuffed previous invitations, has agreed to participate in a debate hosted by WCBS, according to a statement issued Monday by Byron Brown, the Buffalo mayor and the chairman of the state Democratic Committee.

It would be held at Hofstra University before a live audience, a source said. 

"CBS has offered to host a gubernatorial debate on August 29th, an invitation which Governor Cuomo has accepted," Brown said in a statement.

Nixon had been chiding the incumbent for months for not agreeing to debate and had accepted previous similar offers from WABC-TV and NY-1.

Nixon accepted the debate invitation at Hofstra, even though her campaign was given no input on format, time or other terms, spokeswoman Rebecca Katz said.

"The result: a debate at Andrew Cuomo's chosen location and TV station, in his preferred format, with a favorable audience, and on a date in the last week of August when a minimum of New Yorkers will be watching," Katz said, adding: "Cynthia will debate Governor Cuomo backwards and in high heels if she has to."

This will be the first one-on-one debate Cuomo has had in 12 years. He didn’t debate Zephyr Teachout, his challenger in a Democratic primary in 2014.

In the general election campaigns of 2014 and 2010, he wouldn’t debate the Republican nominees head-on, but agreed to participate in forums that included several minor-party candidates.