Cynthia Nixon ended months of speculation Monday when she announced her bid to run for governor of New York.
The actress, who is a lifelong New Yorker, is now set to challenge two-term Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this September.
If elected, she would make history as both the first female and the first openly LGBTQ governor of New York. Those facts did not go unnoticed by the award-winning actress’s sizable fanbase, many of whom continue to associate her with her iconic character, Miranda Hobbes, on HBO’s “Sex and the City.”
Rosie O’Donnell expressed her support for Nixon’s gubernatorial campaign ...
... as did the famously outspoken YouTube comedian Randy Rainbow.
However, the campaign announcement received a less-than-enthusiastic response from former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The openly gay Quinn, who has campaigned for Cuomo, blasted Nixon as “an unqualified lesbian” in a New York Post interview. “This is a time to move away from celebrity and toward progressive leadership,” she said.
In fact, Nixon, who is bisexual, and her wife, Christine Marinoni, have been advocates for public education, women’s rights and LGBTQ rights for some time. Mayor Bill de Blasio named Nixon to the advisory board for the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City in 2014, and Marinoni has served as an adviser to the New York City Department of Education in the de Blasio administration.
Check out some of the best LGBTQ reactions to Nixon’s campaign announcement below.