Statewide Debates

Any candidate participating in the Public Campaign Finance Program who is running for a statewide office is required to participate in at least one debate before each election. 

This includes candidates running for Governor/Lieutenant Governor, State Attorney General, and State Comptroller.

The debate requirement does not apply to candidates who are running unopposed or if no other candidate is eligible to debate them. 

Candidates who are not participating in the Public Campaign Finance Program may also qualify to join a debate.  

To participate in a debate, a candidate must raise and spend at least 5% of the public funding limit for their sought office, or $175,000, before the last financial filing deadline before the debate. 

If a candidate who is not participating in the Program declines an invitation to debate or does not show up, the debate will still take place. However, a debate will be canceled if there is only one candidate willing to participate in the debate.

Candidates are allowed to participate in more than one debate, but additional debates are not required to be conducted under the PCFB’s guidelines.

In order to host a debate, an organization needs to meet a number of criteria.

• Eligible hosts must have been in existence for at least two years.
• Eligible hosts cannot be owned, affiliated or controlled by a political party, political group, office holder or candidate running for office.
• Eligible hosts cannot support or oppose any candidates in the upcoming election(s), including through an endorsement, contribution, or expenditure. (The act of hosting a debate does not mean the organization is supporting any of the candidates who participate in it.)
• Eligible hosts must agree to televise the debate and make it available to livestream on the internet for free.
• Eligible hosts must ensure the debate broadcast is accessible for people with disabilities. This includes, but is not limited to, providing closed captioning and American Sign Language interpretation.
• Eligible hosts must agree to provide all materials made for the debate to the PCFB for posting on the PCFB's website.

These rules are applicable to the applicant’s parent companies, subsidiaries, or any individuals who control said organization.

The organization hosting the debate is in charge of the rules, date, time, and place, but they must receive final approval from the PCFB.

• The debate must be at least one hour long.
• The debate must occur between five weeks before and one week before Early Voting starts.
• The debate location must take into account the geographic diversity of New York State and endeavor to accommodate candidates from all over the state.
• The debate must be televised and available to livestream on the internet for free.
• The debate can be broadcast on other platforms, however this does not automatically make those broadcasters debate hosts.
• Debates must be accessible for people with disabilities. This includes, but is not limited to, providing closed captioning and American Sign Language interpretation.
• Any materials made for the debate must be made available to the public and posted on the PCFB’s website.

Apply to be a statewide debate host via the link below. Debate host applications will be accepted through March 2, 2026.

DEbate host Application

Upon the closing of the application period, the PCFB will publish a list of applicants on its website.

The PCFB will receive comments from the public - including interested parties and candidates - regarding the qualifications of the potential hosts. 

The PCFB shall select the organization to sponsor the debate(s), based on the sufficiency of the host applications and the discussions with the applicant regarding their ability to meet all the requirements outlined, the ability to present a fair and impartial debate, and any comments received. 

If more than one application is deemed acceptable, then:

• In a Primary Election, the candidates shall be provided a list of hosts approved by the PCFB and, if they can agree on a preference for a debate host, they shall notify the PCFB of that preference within 72 hours of receiving the list. If no preference is received, then the host shall be selected by random lottery drawing.
• In a General Election, the host shall be chosen from the acceptable applications by random lottery drawing.

The PCFB will notify all candidates in the Program who are eligible to participate in the debate of the selection of the host organization and provide a list of candidates (both PCFB and non-PCFB) who are eligible to participate in the debate to the host organization.

The PCFB will provide selected hosts with a list of candidates who are eligible to participate in each debate.

Primary Election Debate(s) must occur between May 9, 2026 - June 6, 2026

General Election Debate(s) must occur between September 19, 2026 - October 17, 2026