Sanders & Clinton to Debate Before New York Primaries

BROOKLYN (CN) - Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have agreed to square off in a televised debate in New York City's biggest and most populous borough five days before they vie for the Empire State's much-prized delegates.

Sanders said late Monday that he has accepted the former first lady's invitation for a debate televised by CNN on April 14.

That's five days before the April 19 primary, where 247 delegates from the Empire State are up for grabs.

"Sen. Sanders has accepted another invitation to debate Hillary Clinton in New York," Sanders' camp said in a statement late Monday. "We are glad that she finally has agreed."

Sanders' spokesman Michael Briggs added: "Sanders all along has pressed for a debate on television in prime time so the greatest number of New Yorkers and Americans may listen to the candidates and decide for themselves who has the best ideas about how to reform our rigged economy and the corrupt campaign-finance system."

Clinton's camp took pains to paint the former secretary of state as having a home-field advantage.

"We had thought the Sanders campaign would have accepted our offer for a Brooklyn debate on April 14 in a New York minute, but it ended up taking a few extra days for them to agree," Clinton's spokesman Harrell Kirstein said in an email. "We are glad they did. We are grateful to have both NY1 and the Daily News sponsoring this debate, ensuring a New York focus to the discussion."

Both candidates have offices in Brooklyn. Clinton has long been stationed in the posh neighborhood of Downtown Brooklyn, located in the shadows of the borough's courts.

Sanders just set up his campaign offices in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn last week.

Sanders grew up in Flatbush, located on the eastern side of the borough; Hillary represented New York as a two-term U.S. senator, before joining the State Department, and has had her office in Brooklyn Heights for years.

On his Facebook site, Sanders' team wrote, "This revolution isn't televised. But the #NYDemDebate will be."

The 74-year-old so-called "Democratic socialist" from Vermont and the former first lady, 68, are duking it out for the ticket to represent Democrats in the upcoming presidential election.

Both are taking on a pack of Republicans, among them fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, who is 69.

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