Recriminations over a bridge opening. A false flier with a mysterious author. A cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese, lox and capers.

So this is what a contested primary for governor in New York looks like.

The long and often bitter battle between Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his untested challenger, Cynthia Nixon, staggered toward Thursday’s finish line, with each side emptying its arsenal of attack lines amid a fusillade of bad press for the governor.

From the time she declared in March, Ms. Nixon showed a taste and a talent for political invective, questioning “the old boys club” that runs Albany and whether the governor was “a real Democrat,” and promising to be a double-barreled trailblazer: the state’s first female and gay governor.

For his part, Mr. Cuomo, a savvy political centrist seeking a third term, has had numerous institutional and financial advantages, including a war chest that topped $31 million at one point — enabling him to spend nearly $500,000 per day on the race as of late August.