Crime emerged as the major issue when New York’s Republican gubernatorial candidates squared off at their first televised debate Monday — with everyone vowing to fire Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over his progressive prosecution policies.

“It’s chaos in New York City,” said Rob Astorino, a former county executive in suburban Westchester.

“You try to go into the city to have a good time with your family and everyone’s looking over your shoulder.”

Astorino said visitors would be “lucky” if they’re only “hit over the head with a bag of poop!” — invoking a disgusting subway incident before referencing a pair of other, far more violent attacks underground.

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Three out of the four candidates had special talents to share when asked by the debate moderators Monday night.

"Definitely not karaoke," Giuliani said with a smile, perhaps fearing he'd be asked to sing as the Democratic candidates were last week.

"OK, we'll leave it blank," moderator Maurice Debois of WCBS said in response.

Wilson highlighted his Blackjack skills while Zeldin mentioned a black belt in Taekwondo.

Astorino broke out into Spanish to highlight his spot as the only bilingual candidate in the primary field.

When it comes to preferred workouts, the candidates were equally diverse in their responses.

Wilson said he is a weightlifting guy and Astorino prefers b-ball. A little spin is fine by the jocular Giuliani.

Zeldin, the only military veteran in the race, struck a more martial tone on the off-beat question.

"I like to do push-ups, sit-ups, run," he said.

Harry Wilson suddenly revealed his 77-year-old relative was stabbed to death in his backyard last Thursday -- slamming elevated crime and lax Empire State policies.

"My cousin's father was murdered in his backyard," the millionaire said, choking up when asked by moderators how crime has personally impacted his life.

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GOP candidates are getting behind the idea of following California's lead by allowing recall elections in the Empire State as recently proposed by GOP legislative leaders.

"I've long been advocating initiatives, referendums and recalls to empower voters," Harry Wilson said.

"Absolutely," Rob Astorino added when asked.

Allowing recalls in New York would require an amendment to the state Constitution, which would have to be passed in two successive terms of the state Legislature before going to voters the following November.

It remained unclear whether Andrew Giuliani and Lee Zeldin would also support such an amendment though they – like Wilson and Astorino – were outspoken about using existing gubernatorial powers to remove Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after San Francisco voters recalled their own controversial lefty DA last week.

Andrew Giuliani lashed out at a CBS-2 debate moderator over his exclusion from the studio for not providing proof that he's been vaccinated against COVID-19.

"I'm in a different world because you guys have relegated me to this," Giuliani told Marcia Kramer via his remote video link.

Giuliani also likened vaccine mandates to "political theater. Just like Jan. 6," saying that "we haven't considered natural immunity."

"We haven't given people this choice," he said.

"The CDC director in, in January of this year, actually said on CNN, that the vaccination does not prevent transmission."

At one point, Giuliani clashed with Kramer over her assertation that, if elected governor, he wouldn't be able to rehire the city workers fired for refusing to get vaccinated, citing Mayor Eric Adams' repeated insistence that "he's not going to do it."

"Well, I'm very well aware of negotiations between the governor of the state of New York and the mayor," Giuliani said.

"I also know that Mayor Adams went up to Albany recently, said he was going to get bail reform repealed and came back with his tail between his legs."

He added: "Look, it's all about going up to Albany and using the leverage necessary…I would sit down on Day One with the legislature."

Giuliani didn't say whether he wants to roll back abortion protections in New York, but he is all for bodily autonomy when it comes to avoiding vaccines for COVID-19 despite the public health benefits.

"I'm pro-life and I'm not afraid to say it. But let me tell you one thing where I've heard the left for many years say 'my body, my choice' recently we've had health mandates come down," he said while reiterating a campaign talking point about rehiring public employees who lost jobs due to vaccine mandates.

Zeldin has floated the idea of appointing a pro-life health commissioner if elected and hinted Monday night that he would support pulling back on reproductive rights as well if given the opportunity.

"The law in New York goes far beyond Roe and I believe that a lot of people who consider themselves to be pro choice would agree with me," he said.

Astorino seemingly agreed.

"We can have a reasonable discussion in this state. I'm pro life I've always been. It's who I am. And I do think we need a culture of life in this country and in our state," Astorino said.

Wilson meanwhile downplayed his past identification as pro-choice by saying he opposed so-called partial-birth abortion or allowing non-doctors to perform the procedure.

"It's chaos in New York City," Astorino said, slamming the state's soft-on-crime criminal justice policies that have fueled the Big Apple's spate of violent crime -- New Yorkers' No. 1 concern.

The city has faced a series of high-profile crimes, ranging from Michelle Go being shoved and killed on the subway tracks in Times Square to a woman getting feces smeared in her face while waiting for her train.

"You try to go into the city to have a good time with your family and everyone's looking over your shoulder," Astorino said. "You know, if you're lucky, you'll be hit over the head with a bag of poop!

"I mean, that's a good day going to the city now and you might get hit with a hammer or shoved onto the train tracks."

Andrew Giuliani said Monday that he wants to revive the anti-crime agenda of his dad, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to fight crime in New York City and across the state.

Giuliani said "we need to utilize programs" including "broken windows" and "stop, question and frisk" that he said drove down "2,000 murders a year in the early '90s to less than 600 murders a year just five short years later."

"Are you saying we should go back to the programs that your father instituted," co-moderatrr Marcia Kramer asked.

"Yes, I am Marcia," he answered.

Zeldin hit his rivals with nicknames he thought would open up old wounds: 'Rolex Rob' Astorino and "Never-Trumper' Harry Wilson.

Astorino received the moniker 'Rolex Rob' thanks to his involvement in a 2019 pay-to-play bribery scheme tied to dealings with ex-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio donors de Blasio financial backers Jona Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichberg, where it was revealed that a real estate developer gave him thousands of dollars toward buying a $10,000 watch.

Meanwhile, Wilson didn't vote for former President Donald Trump in 2020, instead claiming he wrote in Nikki Haley.

Ex-President Donald Trump took center stage as soon as the debate kicked off, with the candidates differing on their level of support for a 2024 campaign to recapture the White House.

"I consider him a good friend, and I would certainly support him if he decided to run for president. You know, the media has been fixated on Jan. 6 For the better part of a year and a half now," Giuliani said.

Zeldin said he believed Trump would win if he ran, without explicitly endorsing him while Wilson said he expects him to be the nominee.

"We'll figure that out whether President Trump wants to run or not," Astorino added.

The candidates found more agreement on the notion that ongoing hearings on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol were a political charade despite new details of Trump's role in the infamous episode.

"We've got to move on ... these hearings right now are complete and utter political theater in Washington, DC," Astorino said.

Harry Wilson has been blitzing TV in recent weeks with promises to remake scandal-plagued New York like he has with businesses in the past.

"He’ll clean it up. He’ll enact a tough ethics plan, term limits for all elected officials, and he’ll hold the politicians accountable. And if the politicians don’t start putting the people first, Harry will make sure they don’t get paid," reads his campaign website.

The businessman is claiming he is the most electable candidate in the GOP primary, but some parts of his past could hamper that argument with conservative voters.

His former role as an economic advisor to Barack Obama, campaign donation to the 2019 campaign of Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and status as the only pro-choice candidate in the race have been fodder for his political opponents.

But the debate could offer Wilson a chance to counter that narrative while beating up on Zeldin, who Wilson recently accused of violating campaign finance law.

Rob Astorino beat expectations years ago by winning a 2010 election as the executive of historically Democratic Westchester County – a distinction he will likely milk for all it is worth Monday night.

"I've always done very well, with Democratic crossover votes and independent votes. That's how I won in Westchester. That's how we're gonna win in New York," Astorino told reporters at the state Capitol last week.

A recent call to strengthen the state's red flag law following a racist-fueled massacre in Buffalo contrasts with his opponents' reluctance to support any new gun control measures.

That could help Astorino, who narrowly lost a 2020 election for state Senate, in a general election if he somehow wins the GOP primary despite relatively low poll numbers.

His latest campaign filing showed him with over a million dollars on hand to make his case to voters in the final weeks of the campaign.

But his opponents might not that for all the experience Astorino has, he has already had a chance to be the GOP standard bearer when he lost the 2014 gubernatorial race to Andrew Cuomo by more than ten points.