Republican nominee for governor Lee Zeldin will face off against Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday — in what’s likely to be their only debate ahead of the Nov. 8 election, he confirmed Sunday.
The candidates will meet Pace University at 7 p.m. for the one-hour debate set to air on Spectrum News.
Zeldin, a member of Congress from Long Island, has for weeks been calling on the weakened Democratic incumbent to agree to multiple debates. He revealed his decision to participate near the end of an 366-word statement Sunday, again calling her a “coward” for insisting on just one face-to-face match-up.
“I have tirelessly called on Hochul to accept a series of debates on broadcast and across various media markets in New York to ensure voters from all corners of this state can hear about the issues that matter most to them,” Zeldin said.
“When we take the stage on Tuesday night, the first question should be why Kathy Hochul thinks that the bare minimum, rock-bottom standard of a single cable debate for one hour after so many New Yorkers have already cast their vote is what she thinks the people of New York deserve.”
Zeldin has mocked Hochul for refusing to agree to multiple debates, even after the governor finally announced her participation in Tuesday’s debate on Sept. 21.
A rep for Hochul sarcastically cheered the end of “months of hiding” by Zeldin.
“Governor Hochul looks forward to highlighting her strong record of delivering results and exposing Lee Zeldin’s dangerous lies,” the rep, Jerrel Harvey, said in a statement.
Additional reporting by David Meyer
