BROOKLYN — Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton might square off in a Kings County debate ahead of the April 19 primary, the Sanders campaign said late Tuesday.
Clinton, a former New York senator, told reporters at a campaign stop in La Crosse, Wisconsin, that she was open to the idea of debating Brooklyn-born Sanders in his home borough, his campaign said.
"The Sanders campaign hailed the development as a victory for Democratic voters everywhere and for New York voters in particular," his campaign said in a news release.
Neither campaign immediately said when or where the debate would occur, but Clinton is slated to speak at a Harlem rally Wednesday and Sanders will host a rally in The Bronx on Thursday.
A spokesman for Clinton's campaign, which is looking to add the Empire State's 247 delegates to the 1,712 it's already won, said Tuesday that the former secretary of state is "perfectly willing" to debate Sanders in New York state.
"Our campaign indicated to the Sanders campaign, through the [Democratic National Committee] that we're perfectly willing to debate in April and we've provided some options including here in New York," Brian Fallon said on Bloomberg Television.
Sanders, who opened a campaign office in Gowanus on Saturday, has been pushing for a Brooklyn showdown in the weeks leading up to the April primary.
"I would hope very much that as we go into New York State, Secretary Clinton's home state, that we will have a debate, New York City, upstate, wherever, on the important issues facing New York and in fact the country," Sanders told "Meet the Press."
The Clinton campaign's chief strategist, Joel Benenson, drew fire recently for seeming to criticize Sanders for being overzealous in wanting to win his hometown.
“I think he’s going to campaign like a Brooklynite, and she’s going to campaign like a senator who represented this state for eight years and has lived here for 16. And I think when voters hear the argument, it may make it competitive, but he’s not going to get to a number in New York that’s going to change the delegate count materially,” Benenson said.
RELATED STORIES:
► MAP: Hillary Clinton's New York
► MAP: Bernie Sanders' New York
► MAP: Donald Trump's New York
