After months of speculation, Cynthia Nixon has formally announced her gubernatorial campaign. The former Miranda Hobbs announced the news in a video released this morning, which lists public education, wealth disparity and a broken subway system as some of her primary concerns. She will run against current governor, Andrew Cuomo, who has been in office since 2011.
While the news may come as jarring to some- especially those hesitant to the idea of another entertainer in public office- Nixon has a history of activism. In 2011, she worked with the Fight Back PAC, a movement to get 38 New York state senators who voted against marriage equality. She's also been an outspoken advocate for public school equity and reproductive rights.
In a recent speech at a Human Rights Campaign fundraiser, Nixon remarked "we have to be more than the anti-Trump party. We have to offer a different vision of how things could be." Watch a snippet of that speech below, and check out her campaign website here.