Gillibrand, Long debate tonight at Skidmore

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and challenger Wendy Long are set to debate each other for the first and only time.

On the air

The debate will be televised locally on YNN at 7 p.m.

The pair will face off at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs this evening.

Democrat Gillibrand is a heavy favorite in her bid to be re-elected to the seat she was appointed to in 2009 after Hillary Rodham Clinton became secretary of state. Gillibrand won the election to finish the last two years of Clinton’s term in 2010.

Republican Long is a New York City attorney making her first run for elected office. Long has pressed for more debates, but Gillibrand has declined.

The debate could be contentious. Long has consistently attacked Gillibrand’s record and blamed the loss of jobs in the state on policies backed by the senator.