New York primary debate: A look inside the claims made by Nixon and Cuomo during their only direct face-off

The candidates exchanged sharp barbs in their quest to lead a major state opposing Donald Trump

The candidates disagreed on a range of issues that divided them during the debate (REUTERS)

The two democrats running to become the governor of New York have met in their first and only face-off before the upcoming September primaries, in a show that quickly turned dirty with blatant accusations of lying and attacks between the candidates.

Cynthia Nixon — the insurgent progressive — took on the political behemoth, Governor Andrew Cuomo, in Hempstead, New York, with both hoping to prove to voters that they are the best choice to become the next governor of the Empire State.

Here is a look at some of the claims and themes made on the Long Island debate stage.

Disagreements about New York City’s Subway system

A major attack Ms Nixon has frequently levelled at Mr Cuomo is the way in which he and his office have managed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which is a state agency that is in charge of the subway — and, therefore, it’s frequent delays.

The issue is one that hits home in New York City, where around 5.6m riders rely on the system every day. Mr Cuomo argued on Wednesday that he has overseen record investment in the MTA, and suggested that New York City should pay for its fair share of repairs.

“He used the MTA like an ATM,” Ms Nixon countered, arguing that Mr Cuomo had actually diverted funding from the system.

A New York Times investigation supports Ms Nixon at least in part. That report found that Mr Cuomo oversaw a transfer of $5m from the MTA system to help state-run ski resorts that were hit hard by a warm winter.

President Donald Trump, the man who cast his shadow over the whole event from Washington

Mr Cuomo came in hot during the debate, attempting to define the race as one of the New York governor against the New York-born president.

He said that he and his administration are “in a fight” with the president, and that he gets attacked frequently on Twitter by the man in the Oval Office.

But, as is the case for many prominent politicians in New York, the two men actually have a complicated and lengthy relationship.

Before Mr Cuomo got on the president’s bad side — he has indeed been attacked by Mr Trump on Twitter, and the New York governor even went so far as to challenge Mr Trump’s catchphrase by saying America “was never that great” — the governor was the recipient of tens of thousands of dollars in donations from Mr Trump for his political campaigns.

Mr Cuomo has thus far refused to return any of that money, and has instead said he wants to use that cash to fight back against the man who donated it.

Who is a corporation?

In one of the more bizarre exchanges of the evening, Mr Cuomo attempted to divert attention from Ms Nixon’s attacks that he is a “corporate” Democrat because he takes political donations from corporations — she has vowed not to — by literally calling Ms Nixon a corporation.

Mr Cuomo at that time repeatedly asked Ms Nixon if she was a corporation at one point. A confused Ms Nixon took a moment before replying: “I am a person”.

She later attempted to clarify what she thought Mr Cuomo was going at: She, as a successful actor, has a business set up to help with aspects of her career.

As for other aspect of Mr Cuomo’s attack — that she had made political donations through her corporation — Ms Nixon denied that she had done so, but said she had donated to politicians from her personal funds. Regarding her calling in favors for those donations, Ms Nixon indicated she had merely asked that helicopters do not fly over Shakespeare In The Park, a free outside play series in Central Park during the summer.

Has Cuomo created a culture of corruption in the Albany, or at least allowed it?

Ms Nixon repeatedly attacked Mr Cuomo as a corrupt politician who has allowed for corruption to seep into his administration.

Those charges stem from convictions for two of Mr Cuomo’s close friends and aides, Joseph Percoco, and the man who was tasked with overseeing the governor’s economic development program, Alain Kaloyeros.

But, while Ms Nixon suggested Mr Cuomo may have known about what Mr Percoco was doing, the governor was never accused by federal prosecutors of doing anything wrong.

Personal tax returns

The two candidates sparred over transparency of their tax returns, and Mr Cuomo once again evoked Mr Trump — who has refused to release his — to say that “only Donald Trump has done less transparency than my opponent”.

Ms Nixon has released a total of five years of her taxes, and did so late last week. She had previously released last year’s returns in May.