Activist/actress Cynthia Nixon still mulling race vs. Cuomo

ALBANY — Actress Cynthia Nixon continues to weigh a run for governor, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

“Many concerned New Yorkers have been encouraging Cynthia to run for office, and as she has said previously, she will continue to explore it,” Nixon spokeswoman Rebecca Sides Capellan told Newsday. “If and when such a decision is made, Cynthia will be sure to make her plans public.”

Nixon’s supporters have talked for more than a year about a possible primary run by the education activist against Cuomo for the Democratic nomination.

“Who may run for governor on both sides of the aisle, that’s up to them and we will deal with it,” Cuomo said Tuesday in a teleconference with reporters on preparations for a snowstorm.

Cuomo and the state Democratic Committee he heads began a major social media campaign Tuesday aimed at voters statewide pushing for Cuomo’s proposed strengthening of laws regarding sexual harassment and abortion.

Nixon, a Manhattan resident who starred in the “Sex and the City” television series and movies, spoke of her fight for more education funding in high-need schools during an interview in August on NBC’s “Today” show.

“There are a lot of people who would like me to run. And I think for a variety of reasons, but I think the No. 1 is education,” she said. “That gap now between our richest schools and our poorest schools are wider under Governor Cuomo than it has ever been before, and that’s got to stop.”

Nixon has until mid-June to file nominating petitions to enter the Democratic primary.

A Siena poll in February found 58 percent of Democrats rated Cuomo’s job performance as good or excellent as he seeks a third four-year term. The poll did not ask about potential challengers.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.