The Democratic primary for New York Governor just got interesting

The collision of two of my favourite worlds will keep me well occupied until June 26th when the Democrats choose their candidate for New York Governor.  Yesterday, Cynthia Nixon, who played my favourite character in Sex and the City, Miranda Hobbes, announced her candidacy with a  very effective video.

The Democrats already hold the seat, of course. Andrew Cuomo seeks his third term and won in 2014 with 54% of the vote in the General Election. He is the obvious frontrunner to fight again for the Democrats with, at the moment, a fairly massive lead over all-comers. From the New York Times:

Ms. Nixon, 51, has never before run for elected office and has chosen a huge undertaking for her first bid: seeking to unseat a two-term incumbent (and son of a three-term governor) who is sitting atop more than $30 million in campaign cash. “Our leaders are letting us down,” she says in a video posted on Twitter, talking about the inequities in New York spliced between images of her walking on the streets of New York City and taking the subways. “Something has to change,” she says in the ad. “We want our government to work again, on health care, 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.”

While she’s definitely the underdog, she has some strong local issues, like the subway, and a clear passion to tackle inequality in her favour. We’ll soon find out. Sex and the City looks pretty dated now, but Nixon’s ideas are very relevant for 2018 New York. She’ll be hoping to at the very least get some left-leaning stuff into Cuomo’s election platform in the same way that Bernie Sanders influenced Hillary’s campaign platform. I have to say, I’d love to be on a plane heading out to deepest New York state to knock on doors.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social

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5 Comments

  • Mick Taylor 20th Mar '18 - 6:44pm

    I’d go and work for her. She would make a fantastic governor and really kick the Democratic Party into action for all New York’s citizens. Go for it Cynthia Nixon!

  • Cllr Mark Wright 20th Mar '18 - 7:04pm

    If there’s one thing America needs, it’s more TV celebrity politicians.

  • Caron Lindsay Caron Lindsay 20th Mar '18 - 9:51pm

    Mark, surely it’s ok if they actually have decent values – and they have the profile to get noticed.

  • Geoffrey Payne 21st Mar '18 - 6:18am

    She definitely has the right priority. In a state dominated by the Democrats they should be doing better.

  • Richard Underhill 12th Sep '18 - 5:31pm

    Why not run for President?

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