Top 2 GOP candidates for NYC mayor exchange verbal fisticuffs

NEW YORK - In a raucous live televised debate, the two main Republican candidates for New York City mayor -- Curtis Sliwa and Fernando Mateo -- exchanged verbal fisticuffs. At several points, their microphones had to be muted. They continued talking anyway.

Both told each other to "relax." Mateo called Sliwa a "clown" and "compulsive liar." Sliwa went after Mateo for his fundraising efforts on behalf of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who, Sliwa said, "single-handedly destroyed the city."

The Republican primary has received very little attention compared to the Democratic one because Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than six to one in the city. 

The winner of the Democratic primary will almost certainly be elected mayor in November.