Fealty to Trump Arises as Litmus Test in G.O.P. Debate for N.Y. Governor

If there was any question that the first debate among Republican contenders for governor of New York would be more combative than last week’s Democratic skirmish, it was put to rest quickly on Monday.

In the opening moments, Representative Lee M. Zeldin attacked Harry Wilson, a corporate turnaround specialist, as a “Never Trumper” and Republican-in-name-only. Mr. Wilson soon returned fire, saying Mr. Zeldin’s campaign was “disintegrating” and suggesting that he had been approached about running alongside Mr. Zeldin and had turned him down.

Mr. Zeldin, who was chosen as his party’s designee at a party convention this winter, scoffed, even as Mr. Wilson, who also worked in the Obama administration, tried to cut him off.

“This guy doesn’t stop,” Mr. Zeldin said, adding, “You’re on the wrong debate stage, man,” suggesting that Mr. Wilson would be more at home with Democrats.

The verbal scuffle continued, even as another candidate, Rob Astorino, looked on, and a fourth candidate, Andrew Giuliani, situated in a studio nearby, held a fixed smile.

“You’re a child,” Mr. Wilson finally responded.

The explosive exchange typified much of the back-and-forth as the candidates sought to prove and polish their conservative bona fides on topics ranging from gun control to abortion to their respect for former President Donald J. Trump.

In doing so, they also sharply differentiated themselves from their Democratic counterparts, especially Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is considered a favorite as the June 28 primary for both parties nears.

The debate also took place against the backdrop of the public hearings by the House committee investigating the Capitol assault on Jan. 6, 2021, and the WCBS-TV moderators — Marcia Kramer and Maurice DuBois — asked early on about the candidates’ feelings about the hearings and about another possible Trump run for president.

Mr. Giuliani, the son of the former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, said he believed Mr. Trump was “a great president” who he hoped would run again.

“I consider him a good friend,” said Mr. Giuliani, who worked for four years in the Trump White House, adding that he wanted to bring the same “kind of change” to New York that Mr. Trump had brought to America.

Mr. Zeldin, once considered a moderate, has been a staunch supporter of Mr. Trump, voting in the House to overturn the results of the 2020 election. That effort was led — interestingly enough — by the older Mr. Giuliani. But Mr. Zeldin was slightly more circumspect in his feelings about Mr. Trump’s political prospects, saying, “If President Trump wants to run, he should run,” and adding that he believed the former president would be the next Republican nominee.

Mr. Zeldin, a four-term congressman from Long Island, tried to reel off other issues he felt deserved federal attention, including illegal immigration, foreign policy and the supply chain. “That’s where Congress should be spending their time right now,” he said.

Mr. Astorino, the former Westchester County executive who was the party’s unsuccessful nominee for governor in 2014, went the furthest in acknowledging the Capitol riots, calling Jan. 6 “a horrible day in our nation’s history,” and saying that Mr. Trump “bears some responsibility” for the mob attack. But he called the hearings “political theater.”

Mr. Astorino generally avoided the verbal sparring going on between Mr. Zeldin and Mr. Wilson in the CBS studio, trying to convey a calmer presence.

“This state is a mess,” he said, adding, “I ran in ’14 and everything has just gotten worse.”

Social issues percolated throughout the evening, with the possible Supreme Court decision on the fate of Roe v. Wade expected this month. Perhaps cognizant of New York’s strong liberal bent — Democrats outnumber Republicans more than two-to-one in enrollment — none of the four on Monday called directly for Roe to be overturned, though several said there should be restrictions on who can perform abortions and when women can seek them.

State Democrats pointed out on Monday night that Mr. Zeldin has previously voiced support for ending Roe and said in April that he would like to appoint “a health commissioner who respects life as opposed to what we’re used to.” On Monday, the candidate also outlined other proposals to limit access, including requiring parental consent, and said that New York’s strong protections for abortion are “going too far.”

Mr. Wilson, the only candidate in the race who supports abortion rights, said he was “not running on a social agenda,” adding he would not try to change state law, while Mr. Astorino said that abortion remained a “really difficult choice” for women.

“I think we have to get back to a position of we’re here to help,” he said, mentioning prenatal care, and adding that many abortions are sought in “low-income” areas by women who “feel that there was no other option.”

Mr. Giuliani said that he was “not afraid” to say he was anti-abortion, before co-opting the women’s rights motto — “My body, my choice” — to discuss his opposition to vaccination mandates. Indeed, Mr. Giuliani was forced to participate remotely because he has refused to get the coronavirus vaccine, something he has used as a talking point on the campaign trail to rail against government mandates concerning the disease.

In recent weeks, Mr. Giuliani has insisted that he is the candidate to beat — citing a single online poll — even as he has campaigned with his father, who had been prominently featured, often in unflattering ways, during the House hearings.

Still, with early voting beginning on Saturday, Mr. Zeldin has been considered the front-runner because of his party’s backing, his name recognition as a congressman and his robust fund-raising.

The debate comes amid rising hopes for Republicans, who have not won a statewide race for 20 years and lost their last foothold of power in Albany — control of the State Senate — in the 2018 elections. Ms. Hochul has suffered from tepid poll numbers, particularly on issues like crime, on which Republicans have successfully attacked Democrats, including in last year’s elections.

In the wake of a massacre last month at a supermarket in Buffalo and another looming Supreme Court decision that could strike down a state law that places strict limits on the carrying of handguns, candidates were asked about possible new policies to address gun violence.

All four candidates voiced support for the Second Amendment, with Mr. Wilson, for one, suggesting that addressing mental health problems and policing violent extremism would do more than new restrictions on guns.

Mr. Astorino said that the debate should not be over gun control but “criminal control,” making reference to new bail laws passed by Democrats in Albany in 2019. “Right now, it’s the criminals who get away with everything,” he said, contending that “law-abiding New Yorkers” are “being targeted all the time.”

Mr. Giuliani agreed with Mr. Astorino that stronger policing could be part of the answer, adding that he’d like to return to some of the “broken windows” policing plans that his father embraced during his mayoralty. “We need to end this war on cops and allow proactive policing again,” he said.

Mr. Giuliani groused somewhat about being forced to be remote — accusing CBS and other media outlets of “acting more like Pravda than anything else” — but he also noted the tension between Mr. Zeldin and Mr. Wilson.

“Sounds like I’m missing some fireworks over there,” Mr. Giuliani said.