“Sex And The City” Star Cynthia Nixon Running Far Behind In New York Gubernatorial Primary

“Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon is running in the New York primary for governor. It has been a lively race against Gov. Andrew Cuomo. I am one who thinks experience matters–so the person I support in the September primary is clear. The long article today are for those who love a great political read–from a state with a storied past when it comes to great political events.

 

Mr. Cuomo’s team has alternated between projecting nonchalance about the challenge — while taking care to highlight his success with left-leaning causes like marriage equality and raising the statewide minimum wage — and casting Ms. Nixon as a clueless entertainer.

“It’s clear that voters don’t believe she has the chops,” said Lis Smith, a Cuomo campaign spokeswoman.

 

Questions about her experience are both fair, Ms. Nixon said, and plainly gendered.

 

“If I were a man with exactly the same résumé, I would not be getting this question to the extent that I am,” she said.

 

She acknowledged that her campaign operation, with a few dozen paid staff members, the majority of them female, is the largest entity she has overseen. In a 40-minute interview, Ms. Nixon initially laughed when asked to describe her management style, before settling on “collaborative” and “opinionated.” Her critics have been less generous, though at times their efforts have backfired. When a Cuomo supporter, Christine C. Quinn, the former City Council speaker, called Ms. Nixon an “unqualified lesbian” — Ms. Quinn is also a lesbian — Ms. Nixon’s campaign printed the phrase across official T-shirts. It became a best seller.