Cuomo’s third-term agenda? Anybody’s guess

Mr. Cuomo, 60, is seeking to match the accomplishment of his father, Mario M. Cuomo, by seeking a third term. What he might do the next four years, however, was not articulated during the debate (nor, really, during the entire campaign).

In the post-show spin, campaign aides to the governor said that he would like to push through more ethics reforms — depending on the political makeup of the State Senate, of course — and continue and complete big infrastructure projects like a new Penn Station and La Guardia Airport. But during his 60 minutes with Ms. Nixon, Mr. Cuomo offered little to no guidance as to what Cuomo III might do or accomplish.

Cuomo settled in



At the top of the debate, Mr. Cuomo seemed to be striving to project command, pitching himself forward in his chair like a guidance counselor trying to make a point to worried parents. But toward the end of the debate, Mr. Cuomo leaned back in his chair, more relaxed like the marijuana-sampling college student he said he once was.

Mr. Cuomo had controlled the circumstances of the debate — it was held in the same room where he accepted his party’s endorsement in May, after all, and under conditions, atmospheric and otherwise, that he dictated.

Indeed, the debate setup — with the governor seated at a table — somewhat resembled one of his news conferences. Toward the end of the debate on Wednesday, he seemed confident that he would ride that advantage to victory.

[Mr. Cuomo, citing God and death, ruled out running for president in 2020.]

Cuomo: Cynthia who? Trump, Trump, Trump

Mr. Cuomo answered the first question of the night by almost immediately launching into an attack on the president.

“Someone has to stand up to him, someone has to stop him,” he said.

Mr. Cuomo has shown a particular taste for sparring with Mr. Trump lately, after a long period of barely mentioning his fellow Queens native. It took far longer on Wednesday for Mr. Cuomo to even mention Ms. Nixon’s name — he consistently called her “my opponent” — only engaging after she baited and badgered him.