'Sex and the City' actress Cynthia Nixon announces run for New York governor
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Actress Cynthia Nixon, best-known for her role on the TV series "Sex and the City," has officially thrown her hat into the ring, announcing Monday that she is running for governor of New York.
Nixon released a video in which she signaled a challenge to business as usual in Albany and a vision of a New York that works for the many, not just the few.
"I love New York. I've never lived anywhere else," says Nixon in the video, which shows her starting her day at home with her wife Christine and son Charlie and walking her son Max to school. "But something has to change. We want our government to work again, on healthcare, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway. We are sick of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us. It can't just be business as usual anymore."
Nixon will challenge incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo. A new poll released Monday shows him holding big leads over two potential Republican challengers and Nixon.
The Siena College poll found that registered voters in New York state prefer Cuomo over Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro by 57 percent to 29 percent. They also favor Cuomo over state Sen. John DeFrancisco, of Syracuse, 57 percent to 28 percent, according to the poll. Democrats overwhelmingly favor Cuomo over Nixon, a potential primary challenger, by 66 percent to 19 percent.
Nixon, a 51-year-old gay liberal activist, is a supporter of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat who often clashes with Cuomo on a variety of issues.
According to Siena pollster Steven Greenberg, Nixon "is far from a household name in New York, though she is better known than either Molinaro or DeFrancisco."
Nixon grew up in New York City, where she was raised by her single mother in a one bedroom, fifth-floor walk-up apartment. She began working as an actor when she was 12 years old to earn money to pay for her college education, and she was able to put herself through Barnard College at Columbia University.
She attended New York City public schools, and her three children are all New York City public school students or graduates. She would be the first woman elected to New York's highest office, and its first LGBTQ governor as well.
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