LGBTQ Sex and the City star to run for governor

Cynthia Nixon, best known for her role in Sex and the City, has confirmed that she is running for the office of New York governor.

On Monday, Nixon announced her intention to challenge incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic Party nomination.

Describing herself as a lifelong New Yorker and progressive activist, she said she is entering politics “for a better, more equal New York”.

Her campaign page states that, “Cynthia hasn’t been bought and paid for by special interests and won’t be accepting any corporate contributions in this campaign.”

Instead, the 51-year-old is planning to raise money for her campaign through crowd funding from the public.

“We want our government to work again, on healthcare, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway,” Nixon said in a campaign 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.”

Nixon is facing an uphill battle. Polls show that Cuomo is a popular governor, with support of around 66% of Democrats in the state.

Nixon argues that while New York is a traditionally Democratic state, it is also “the most unequal state in the entire country, with both incredible wealth and extreme poverty”.

The Emmy-winning Nixon, who played the role of Miranda Hobbes in the Sex and the City TV series and big-screen movies, came out as bisexual in 2012.

In 2004, she ended her 15 year relationship with English professor Danny Mozes and become romantically involved with education activist Christine Marinoni. The women, who married in 2012, are raising three children Sam, Charlie and Max.

“While I don’t often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual,” she said at the time. “I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have ‘chosen’ is to be in a gay relationship.”

If she wins the election, Nixon would become the first female and the first LGBTQ governor in New York history.