Gov. Kathy Hochul refused Tuesday to say why she hasn’t answered Lee Zeldin’s demand for five debates across the state — saying only that she’s “willing to debate” her Republican challenger.
Hochul’s reluctance to specifically commit to a series of face-offs came amid her campaign plan for a $2 million ad blitz targeting both English- and Spanish-speaking voters, and days after the latest poll showed underdog Zeldin trailing the Democratic incumbent by just 4%.
With just nine weeks until Election Day on Nov. 8, Hochul for a second day dodged questions from The Post about when and where she’s willing to debate Zeldin, an outgoing congressman from Long Island.
“I’ve already said I’m willing to debate. I always debate,” she said during an unrelated news conference at Manhattan’s Penn Station.
“This is my 14th election. I actually look forward to debates. It’s going to happen.”
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber, who was nominated to his post by Hochul in January, also chimed in to support her and attack Zeldin.
“I hope when the debate comes around, we’ll be talking about the fact that Zeldin, alone among New York regional Republicans, didn’t vote for the infrastructure bill,” Lieber said.
“That is a concern to us, especially, who are trying to rebuild the MTA and the transit system. So I hope that’s going to be part of the debate.”
The remarks came one day after Hochul dashed away from the West Indian Day parade in Brooklyn and ignored a shouted question from The Post about debating Zeldin, with an aide later claiming she didn’t hear it.
Hochul has been vague about her readiness to debate Zeldin since her campaign agreed in principle last month.
CBS New York and PIX11 have already offered to host and televise one debate each.
During a separate news conference in Manhattan, Zeldin said he’d already agreed to take part in those events.
“What is Kathy Hochul so scared of?” he said.
“This is something that she should be enthusiastic about. This is the democratic process.”
Zeldin said he wanted “at least two debates in the New York City media market, at least one debate in the capital region media market, at least one debate in the Rochester or Buffalo media market, and at least one in the other media markets of New York.”
“I’d be willing to debate Kathy Hochul in every media market in New York,” he added.
Lobbyist and strategist Tom Doherty of Mercury Public Affairs, who was an aide to former Gov. George Pataki, said Hochul appeared to be basing her moves on “polling that says, you know, I need to go away and not do anything.”
“The Rose Garden strategy is, you know, what many incumbents do,” he said.
“It says to me that somewhere in the middle of a 24-point lead and a 4-point lead that it’s best if she just doesn’t say much and just goes about her daily business — and why engage the opponent?”
Democratic political consultant Camille Rivera said Hochul could easily end Zeldin’s attacks — and boost her own campaign — by agreeing to debate him.
“I think she needs to excite the base a bit,” Rivera said.
“I think a debate is good and she should just take the oxygen out of it.”
Democratic consultant Bruce Gyory also warned that Zeldin should heed the axiom, “Careful what you wish for.”
“When challengers make an issue of a debate, they can get some mileage by saying: ’Oh, we want more debates, this and that,’ but once the debates happen, it’s like a long pin pricking a balloon – it evaporates,” he said.
Gyory noted that Zeldin “was not the most polished debater in the primaries” and had a tendency to “look a little flummoxed.”