It got ugly, and fast

Considering it was only an hour, and was perhaps Mr. Molinaro’s best chance to make a dent in the governor’s substantial lead in the polls, it wasn’t surprising that he wanted to go quickly on the attack. He accused the governor of leading “the most corrupted state government in America” and of being “born on third base.”

But Mr. Cuomo was just as combative, turning accusations of pay-to-play right back on Mr. Molinaro, and, when he wasn’t outright interrupting Mr. Molinaro, smiling and nodding sarcastically at him.

Mr. Molinaro tried to couch his attacks in a more dignified tone, repeatedly calling Mr. Cuomo “sir” and denouncing the “bullying and the threatening” that he said had come to dominate New York politics. But overall, the gloves came off early and stayed off, as the two men bickered over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, medical marijuana, and, of course, President Trump. “Is this how we’re doing it?” Mr. Molinaro asked as Mr. Cuomo interrupted him again.

Yes, yes it was.

Meet Marc Trump — er, Molinaro

The debate was an opportunity for Mr. Molinaro — who has struggled to raise money and awareness — to introduce himself and his ideas to voters. And by and large, he spoke cogently and convincingly about policy and his vision for the state.

But Mr. Molinaro also failed to neutralize Mr. Cuomo’s central strategy of tying him to the president. Rather than emphasizing that he had not voted for Mr. Trump, or that he had denounced some of the president’s rhetoric, Mr. Molinaro instead sidestepped the governor’s questions about whether he supported Mr. Trump, possibly in an effort not to alienate some of his Republican base. Mr. Molinaro later told reporters he did not want to allow Mr. Cuomo to force him into an oversimplified answer.