Cynthia Nixon is running for Governor of NYC. | Photo: Nick Step / Flickr
Cynthia Nixon just launched her official campaign for Governor of New York City and it’s off to a hilarious start.
After making the announcement on Monday (19 March), the openly bisexual Sex and the City star held her campaign launch party at the Stonewall Inn last night (21 March).
Nixon greeted the crowd: ‘Good evening sisters, brothers, and those who reject the gender binary.’
She continued: ‘Now yesterday, when I announced my candidacy, one of [Andrew] Cuomo’s top surrogates dismissed me as an “unqualified lesbian.”
‘And I just want to say tonight that she was technically right – that I don’t have my certificate from the Department of Lesbian Affairs. Though in my defense, there’s a lot of paperwork involved,’ she joked.
She posted this section of the speech to Twitter and it went viral, attracting over 71,000 likes and 14,000 retweets at the time of writing.
Addressing the disparity between the extreme rich and extreme poor, she wants to fight for a New York for the many – not just the few.
She continues: ‘I’m running for Governor because I love this state. I was born here, I was raised here [and] I’m raising my kids here. It’s the place where I’ve made my career.
‘It’s the place where I met and married the love of my life, Christine. I’ve never lived anywhere else and I would never want to live anywhere else. But I know – and you know – New York needs to do so much better.’
Cynthia Nixon: ‘I need you to be with us’
At the end of the speech, she reveals her campaign will not be accepting a single corporate donation.
She also said: ‘In our first day of fundraising this week, we received more small donor donations than Governor Cuomo has received in seven years. And I need you to be with us.’
Her plan for New York includes fully funding public schools, providing accessible and inexpensive healthcare and passing the DREAM Act to make New York a sanctuary state.
Nixon’s campaign is also one directly and explicitly against Trump.
Her campaign website states: ‘Together, we could show the entire country and the world that in the era of Donald Trump, New Yorkers will come together and lead our nation forward.
She added: ‘I’m running for Governor because we want our state back.’
Watch the full speech: