Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon runs for New York governor's office
The actress says she is "sick of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us".
Thursday 22 March 2018 12:36, UK
Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon has announced she is running for governor of New York.
"I love New York, and today I'm announcing my candidacy," the 51-year-old said on Twitter.
In an accompanying video, she added that "New York is where I was raised, and where I'm raising my kids".
Explaining why she is hoping to help run her home city, she said: "Our leaders are letting us down. We are now the most unequal state in the entire country, with both incredible wealth and extreme poverty."
She added: "We want our government to work again. We are sick of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us."
It means she will be challenging incumbent Andrew Cuomo, 60, for the Democratic nomination in a primary on 13 September.
If Nixon wins both the primary, and the election on 6 November, she will become New York's first female and first openly gay governor.
She is aligned with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio - a Democrat to the left of Mr Cuomo.
The two men have had disagreements over issues including public transit and housing.
In an opinion poll conducted by Siena College before the announcement, Mr Cuomo had a lead of 66% to 19% over Nixon.
Suggestions that she was considering running for the office had first been reported earlier this month.
Nixon starred in Sex and the City between 1998 to 2004 as attorney Miranda Hobbes. There were two feature films in the franchise.
She is also a Tony Award-winning stage actress.