Cynthia Nixon to challenge Cuomo for NY governor

Actress Cynthia Nixon has officially announced she is mounting a Democratic primary challenge against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Announcing her bid on Monday, Nixon said that she presents a “strong progressive alternative” to Cuomo, who she called a “centrist and Albany insider.”

{mosads}“Cuomo’s time in office has been defined by a string of indictments for corruption, his failure to fix the New York City subway, and his support for a backroom deal which handed Republicans control of the state Senate, resulting in the failure of numerous pieces of progressive legislation,” Nixon said in a statement.

Nixon’s entrance into the race had been speculated months. Earlier this month, she began to assemble a campaign team.

The former “Sex and the City” star has been vocally critical of Cuomo in the past. On March 8, she wrote an op-ed criticizing the governor for education policies that she said come dangerously close to those of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

In a video announcing her campaign, Nixon touted her New York roots and stressed her progressive ideals.

“We want our government to work again, on health care, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway,” Nixon said in her video. “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.” 

Democrats currently favor Cuomo over Nixon, 66 percent to 19 percent, according to a poll from Siena College released on Monday. Cuomo’s favorability rating currently stands at 52 percent, the poll found.

“With an overall 20-19 percent favorability rating — 26-16 percent among Democrats — Cynthia Nixon is far from a household name in New York,” said Steven Greenberg, a Siena College pollster.

The New York primary elections will take place on June 26.