Actor Cynthia Nixon Challenges Cuomo for Governor

To hear WNYC's Fred Mogul and Brigid Bergin on Nixon's candidacy, click on the "play" button.

Actor and political activist Cynthia Nixon announced Monday that she'll challenge New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in this fall's Democratic primary, ending weeks of speculation.

Nixon declared her her candidacy in a video she posted on Twitter, which showed her walking the streets of New York, riding the L train and tucking one of her children into bed. 

I love New York, and today I'm announcing my candidacy for governor. Join us: https://t.co/9DwsxWW8xX pic.twitter.com/kYTvx6GZiD

— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) March 19, 2018

"We want our government to work again, on health care, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway," she said. "We are sick of politicians, who care more about headlines and power than they do about us."

According to campaign filings, Nixon's campaign treasurer is listed as Zephyr Teachout, the Fordham University law professor who ran against Gov. Cuomo in the 2014 primary election on a platform of rooting out corruption in Albany.

Nixon faces a daunting opponent in Cuomo, a two-term incumbent with more than $30 million in his campaign coffers, in the Sept. 13 primary. Besides his mountain of contributions, he enjoys an enormous lead in the polls. According to a Siena College poll released Monday, just hours before the announcement, 66 percent of registered Democrats favored Cuomo, compared with 19 percent who preferred Nixon.

A Cuomo spokesman, Austin Shafran, said in a statement, "It's great that we live in a democracy where where anyone can run for office. Gov. Cuomo has delivered more real progressive wins than any other Democrat in the country."

New York is a closed party state and you must be a registered Democrat to vote in the state's primaries.

The general election is on Nov. 6.