Let’s have a good, clean fight. No low blows. No kidney punches. Follow the rules. When you get in a clinch, step back. And when you hear the bell, stop punching and go to your respective corners. Now touch gloves and come out fighting.

Good advice for boxers. Even better advice for the candidates seeking to become New York’s next governor.

On Friday, the race got a bit clearer, as Rep. Elise Stefanik, the Republican congresswoman representing a large area of the North Country, finally ended months of speculation and stepped into the ring to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Even before the opening round bell, the social media brawling had already begun, with Stefanik and Hochul trading derogatory nicknames (Sellout Stefanik vs. The Worst Governor in America) and using each other’s respective associations (Stefanik to Trump, Santos and the Young Republicans; Hochul to Mamdani and the radical left) to inflict wounds and score points........

© The Leader Herald