Cynthia Nixon Launches Bid To Become Governor

CITY HALL, NY — Cynthia Nixon will oppose incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a bid to be the next governor of New York, the former actor announced on Monday.

Nixon announced her campaign after months of speculation that she would oppose Cuomo, who is vying for his third term in office.

Nixon blasted Cuomo as a "centrist and Albany insider," and blamed him for corruption in state government and the mismanagement of the New York City subway system.

"Unlike Andrew Cuomo, Cynthia rides the subway nearly every day, and understands the toll that his disastrous mismanagement of the MTA is taking on New Yorkers," her campaign said in a statement.

Nixon announced her campaign in a video, which you can watch here:

The ad shows Nixon and her wife Christine and sons Charlie and Max at home in their New York apartment. Nixon touted her experience as an education activist and her history on issues including marriage equality and women's rights.

Nixon is posing herself as a more progressive alternative to Cuomo.

"We want our government to work again, on healthcare, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway," her campaign said in a statement. "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 and Cuomo will both vie to be the Democratic nominee for the 2018 governor's race. They will face off on Sept. 13 in the Democratic primaries. The general election will be held on Nov. 6.

Cuomo was first elected governor in 2010.

Nixon is best known for her role as Miranda on "Sex and the City." If elected, she would be the first female and the first openly gay governor to lead New York.

Image credit: Roy Rochlin / Getty Images. Image caption: Cynthia Nixon speaks onstage during The People's State Of The Union at Town Hall on January 29, 2018 in New York City.