Some Issues That Mattered in the NY Primary Race

— -- The battle for New York's primary delegates raged on both sides of the political spectrum with the Republican and Democratic candidates facing off on different sets of issues.

Values Voters

On the Republican side, a controversial comment kept one of the candidates on the defensive throughout his campaigning in the Empire State.

Sen. Ted Cruz had previously used "New York values" as a campaign punchline during the South Carolina primary in an attempt to slam Donald Trump's previous stances on social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.

During a Monday appearance on "Good Morning America,” Cruz told a voter that he knows that "the people of New York, the folks here, y'all have suffered under the left-wing Democratic policies year after year after year that were forced on you by politicians who aren't listening to you and Heidi and I, we are fighting for you," he said, referencing his wife.

When asked whether he realized the phrase might have hurt him with voters, he suggested the only ones offended were reporters.

"I do know it has hurt me with the media; the media lit their hair on fire," Cruz said.

Cruz was in third place among the three GOP presidential candidates in the state, according to every poll of New York voters.

Democrats Debating Domestic Issues

The Democrats sparred verbally on stage in Brooklyn last week when they had another debate.

There were two major policy areas that prompted a serious back-and-forth about both minimum wage and their respective stances on Israel.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has advocated for a national $15 minimum wage, while criticizing Hillary Clinton for calling for it to be raised in stages.

"I will work as hard as I can to raise the minimum wage. I always have,” Clinton said at last week’s debate.

“But what I have also said is that we've got to be smart about it, just the way Gov. Cuomo was here in New York. "If you look at it, we moved more quickly to $15 in New York City, more deliberately toward $12, $12.50, upstate, then to $15.

“That is exactly my position. It’s a model for the nation. And that's what I will do as president. Go as quickly as possible to get to $15," she said.

Striking a Balance in the Mideast

Sparks also flew when their attention turned to international issues, specifically how to seek peace in the Middle East.

Sanders did something that Mideast experts and advocates on either side have never seen someone in his position do before: take a public stand for the rights of Palestinian people on such a national stage.

During the debate, Sanders labeled himself "100 percent pro-Israel in the long run" but also went on to highlight the unemployment rates in Palestinian-governed Gaza, as well as poor health care and education systems.

"That does not make me anti-Israel. That paves the way, I think, to an approach that works in the Middle East," he said.

For Clinton’s part, speaking of Israel, she said, “I don't know how you run a country when you are under constant threat … rockets coming at you. You have a right to defend yourself. That does not mean that you don't take appropriate precautions and I understand that there's always second guessing any time there is a war.”

But she also said, “It also does not mean that we should not continue to do everything we can to try to reach a two-state solution.”