Cynthia Nixon backs primary challenger to Rep. Carolyn Maloney

Cynthia Nixon, the former “Sex and the City” star and New York gubernatorial candidate, endorsed Democrat Rana Abdelhamid on Tuesday in her primary challenge to longtime Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).

“It’s time for a new generation of progressive leadership, for someone who will fight for every single neighborhood, not just the rich on the Upper East Side,” Nixon said in a statement. 

“That’s why I’m proud to endorse Rana for Congress in NY-12, and why I’m thrilled to see progressives uniting behind the movement she’s building for housing justice, climate justice, and economic justice in this district.”

The endorsement throws a bit of star power behind Abdelhamid’s bid to unseat Maloney, who has represented a New York City-based congressional district for nearly three decades and currently serves as the chairwoman of the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee. 

Abdelhamid, a community organizer, launched her campaign in April with the support of Justice Democrats, the influential progressive group that has a track record of backing successful primary challenges in New York. 

The group supported Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in her successful 2018 bid to oust former Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and was also instrumental in Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s (D-N.Y.) primary campaign last year against former Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.). 

Nixon gained significant attention in 2018 during her ultimately unsuccessful challenge to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). She’s remained active in the political scene since then, throwing her support behind a number of progressives candidates. 

On Tuesday, she voiced support for India Walton, a socialist who defeated incumbent Byron Brown last week in the Democratic primary for mayor of Buffalo, N.Y.