Cynthia Nixon’s Campaign Exposes Cuomo’s Progressive Weaknesses

By: Steven Morris

Cynthia Nixon during her campaign for Governor of New York. (Credit: James Keivom/New York Daily News)

What was once thought to be an uncontested race for the democratic nomination in New York, is not the case anymore.

Actor and activist Cynthia Nixon is vying for the democratic nomination to be the Governor of New York, going up against Governor Cuomo.

Nixon, famous in her role as Miranda Hobbes from “Sex in the City”, is not pleased with how the government of New York treats the people of the middle class and the people who suffer in poverty, especially under Cuomo’s watch.

According to Nixon’s campaign website, she’s running to be the Governor of New York “because I love this state. New York is the only place I’ve ever lived, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I know that we can do better. We need a New York that works for all of us – a New York for the many, not just the few.”

On her campaign website, she admits that she voted for Governor Cuomo eight years ago, but according to Nixon, “Governor Cuomo has shown us his true colors. He let the Republicans gerrymander their own districts to suppress Democratic voters, especially voters of color. Then, when Democrats still won a majority, he cut a backroom deal that allowed Republicans to take over the State Senate through the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) — a group of breakaway Democrats who voted with the Republicans to hand them control, and with it, the power to block almost all of our key Democratic legislative priorities.”

Like the campaign Bernie Sanders ran in 2016, Cynthia Nixon will not be accepting any corporate contributions to her campaign but only donations made by her supporters.

In a speech that she made at an event hosted by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Our Revolution on April 13th, she said: “The time is up for corporate Democrats, for politicians who campaign as Democrats but govern as Republicans… It can’t just be business as usual anymore. I know that our country can do better. We have to turn the system upside down.”

A month into Cynthia Nixon’s campaign has revealed the priorities of which she is running on, which is for the vast improvement of the MTA, the legalization of marijuana, an end to mass incarceration and universal healthcare.

Specifically, on the topic of marijuana, in a statement that she provided to the New York Times, if elected Governor of New York, Nixon would seek to reverse convictions for nonviolent offenders, adding that “Ending the injustice of putting New Yorkers in prison for marijuana is a start. But we also have to correct past injustices, by expunging prior convictions — particularly for nonviolent offenders whose only convictions are for marijuana use.”

Even though Governor Cuomo still holds a wide margin over Cynthia Nixon, a month after she announced her candidacy, Nixon has gained some ground.

A new poll released April 17th by Siena College, shows that among registered democrats in New York, Cuomo leads 58% to 27% margin. A margin that used to be 66% to 19% last month, before Nixon announced her candidacy.

Recently, Nixon won the endorsement of the Working Families Party, a political party who supported Cuomo twice before, but now supports Nixon, citing Cuomo as “not liberal enough”.

Cynthia Nixon is part of a larger group of progressives throughout the country who are entering the political process and running for office against establishment candidates, which are forcing many established candidates, mostly republicans, to not seek re-election.

The gubernatorial primaries will be held on September 13th to decide who will represent the democratic and republican parties on November 6th.