From LoHud.com:

In their first upstate debate tonight, Democratic candidates for state attorney general took on issues from taxing cigarettes sold on reservations to whether they would investigate funding of a mosque near Ground Zero.

And which of the contenders — all from downstate — is most connected to upstate New York.

But of the five candidates seeking the party nod in the Sept. 14 primary, only three showed up. It was sponsored by Voice of the Voter, a collaboration between WXXI public broadcasting, the Democrat and Chronicle and WHAM-TV.

Those participating were Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, 64, D-Greenburgh; former state Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo, 47, of Manhattan; and former federal prosecutor and Navy officer Sean Coffey, 54, of Bronxville.

Candidates Eric Schneiderman, 55, a state senator from Manhattan, and Kathleen Rice, 45, the Nassau County district attorney, did not attend, citing previous commitments.

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