Cuomo and Astorino Exchange Blows in Debate

With less than two weeks away before November 4^th’s election, it was time for Governor Andrew Cuomo and gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino to square off in a televised debate. It has been known that the two candidates disagree on practically every policy and social issue besides the recreational use of marijuana, and these differing beliefs were on full display during last night’s debate.

 Astorino used the debate to try to ignite some sort of arousal out of the governor and he would constantly bring up the governor’s Moreland Commission scandal and even stated that Cuomo “is swimming in cesspool of corruption” and claimed that Cuomo “could very well be indicted” for his involvement in it.

He also used to debate to reiterate his central campaign theme, which is how New York has the highest taxes in the country. Tax cutting is one of the major policy issues that the two candidates differ on. Astorino would like to cut taxes across the board in New York and he proposed a 4% income tax for those making under $200,000 and for married couples making under $300,000. He also proposed a 6% income tax for those making over that amount. The current top bracket in New York is 8.8% so that would be a substantial cut if it were to take place. The debate was also a chance for Astorino to attack Cuomo and his support of the Common Core, which is another issue that Astorino is very opposed to.

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Governor Cuomo took the attacks by his counterpart especially well, and seemed to be very composed as he retorted the claims that Astorino made about him and his policies. He responded to the claims made by Astorino by saying that the taxes on the middle class and corporations are at their lowest levels in decades. He also attacked Astorino’s credibility by saying that he failed to fulfil the promises he made to cut taxes by 20%. Cuomo followed that up by saying instead of cutting his county’s taxes by 20%, his county actually had the highest property taxes in the country. The governor also threw a jab back at his opponent by saying “rhetoric’s fine; facts are better.”

 Cuomo currently leads by 21 points in the latest Siena College Poll. A 21 point lead looks great on paper but the silver lining here is that Cuomo’s numbers have dropped 6 points (60-54) since July, while Astorino’s numbers have gone up by 10 points (23-33) in that same time period. This could be due in large part to the 9 percent support for Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins who could potentially take a good amount of votes from Governor Cuomo.

 

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