Cynthia Nixon wants to be New York’s next governor
Nixon, who is challenging Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination, would be the first female and first openly gay governor of the state
Cynthia Nixon, Emmy-, Tony- and Grammy-winning actress and star of Sex and the City, has announced her bid for governor of New York.
Nixon will challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination, confirming widespread speculation that she was planning to enter the race. She is expected to offer a more progressive vision for the state than Cuomo.
“I love New York, and today I’m announcing my candidacy for governor,” Nixon tweeted Monday, along with her official announcement video.
In the video, Nixon states: “Our leaders are letting us down. We are now the must unequal state in the entire country, with both incredible wealth and extreme poverty.”
“Something has to change,” Nixon adds. “We want our government to work again, on health care, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway. We are suck of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us. It can’t just be business as usual anymore.”
Nixon has been a vocal critic of the Trump presidency. In a speech in January during the “People’s State of the Union” — an alternate event to Donald Trump’s official speech — Nixon said, “Our democracy is under attack, and we Americans need to cherish and to fight for it.”
That same month, Nixon wrote an op-ed for CNN with even stronger language. After listing the various ways Trump’s administration was impacting equality, economic and racial justice, and climate change, Nixon said, “That’s why it’s time to take our government back.”
“If we’ve learned anything during this first year of the Trump presidency, it’s that the cavalry isn’t coming to save us,” she added. “We ourselves are the cavalry. In 2018, each one of us has to do whatever we can to take the government back. If we want change, we have to go out ourselves and seize it.”
Nixon has long advocated for LGBTQ rights, women’s rights and pushed for various progressive causes. And, far from a stunt candidacy, the actress has recruited serious political muscle to advise her campaign.
Nixon’s wife, Christine Marinoni, has resigned from her position in New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to aid her campaign. And NY1 reports that Rebecca Katz and Bill Hyers, who ran de Blasio’s 2013 mayoral election campaign, have signed on to assist Nixon.
However, she could face a tough fight, as the New York Times estimates Cuomo’s current campaign cash reserves at $30 million — and the governor told the Times that he was “not nervous about whoever runs” in an interview last week.
If Nixon succeeds and replaces Cuomo as both Democratic nominee and governor, she would become New York’s first female governor, and its first openly gay governor.
Watch her campaign ad below:
I love New York, and today I'm announcing my candidacy for governor. Join us: https://t.co/9DwsxWW8xX pic.twitter.com/kYTvx6GZiD
— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) March 19, 2018
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