New York, NY —

In a spirited debate for state Attorney General last night three of the Democratic candidates attempted to knock Andrew Cuomo from his front-runner status. WNYC's Elaine Rivera reports.

REPORTER: The volleys against Andrew Cuomo began immediately with his primary challenger Mark Green jabbing the hardest. He continued his criticism of Cuomo's HUD record. But Cuomo was not going to have any part of it.

CUOMO: Mark has announced a 30-day attack campaign. I choose not to do. I choose to speak about a positive vision on the issues that affect New Yorkers.

REPORTER: But Green countered, "The issue of course is not about positive or negative is what you're saying relevant and true."

The two other candidates, Charlie King and Sean Patrick Maloney, at times needled Cuomo but spent most of their remarks on their own records.