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Cynthia Nixonis facing off against Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York gubernatorial primary on Thursday.
The formerSex and the Citystar, 52, has run on a progressiveplatformwith stances like fixing New York City’s subway system, legalizing marijuana and supporting single-payer healthcare.
Nixonannounced her bidback in March, telling PEOPLE at the time, “Women have to lead and speak up.”
“I just think we need to have more people of color and women and LGBT people not just represented — but leading,” Nixon continued. “If we want to fix our world, they know what’s wrong with it because they’ve been on the short end of the stick.”
As New Yorkers head out to vote, here are five major moments to remember from her campaign.
- Her campaign called out cold rooms as sexist
Before Nixon debated Gov. Cuomo at Hofstra University in August, Nixon’s campaignrequested that the room’s temperature be turned upto 76 degrees.
Rebecca Katz, a campaign strategist, wrote to the news station hosting the debate that offices are “notoriously sexist when it comes to temperature, so we just want to make sure we’re all on the same page here,”The New York Timesreported.
Lis Smith, a Cuomo spokesperson, responded, “Unlike Cynthia Nixon, the governor has more important things to focus on than the temperature of a room,”CNNreported.
CRAIG RUTTLE/AFP/Getty (2)
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- She confirmed her son is transgender
Alongside a picture of the two at Seph’s graduation from the University of Chicago, Nixon wrote, “I’m so proud of my son Samuel Joseph Mozes (called Seph) who graduated college this month. I salute him and everyone else marking today’s #TransDayofAction.”
Nixon shares Seph and Charles Ezekiel, 15, with ex Danny Mozes and Max Ellington, 7, with wifeChristine Marinoni.
- She discussed her mother’s illegal abortion
In July, Nixon explained why reproductive freedom is meaningful to her — her mother had an abortion in the 1960s. She held a hanger to symbolize the dangers of stripping women of their rights during a campaign rally.
“Abortion rights and reproductive rights is a very personal issue for me,” Nixon said at the rally. “My mother had an abortion here in New York State before it was legal. And when I was old enough, she made sure to tell me about it.”
“It was very hard for her to speak about,” Nixon continued. “She didn’t give a lot of details but it was very important for her to tell me that she had had an abortion, that it had been illegal, and that it had been a tremendously awful experience. She had wanted me to make sure that I knew her history so I can fully value how crucial reproductive freedom is.”
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As she showed the hanger, she said, “We must never, ever, ever go back to a time where any woman feels she has to make this kind of a choice. … So that no woman will ever feel compelled to use something like this on her again.”
- Her bagel confuses the internet
Nixon did not quite whet voters’ appetite when she ordered an unusual item at famed N.Y.C. grocery store Zabar’s — a cinnamon raisin bagel with lox, capers and cream cheese, according toThe Hill.
“That’s what I want — a full load,” she reportedly said. “Yeah, sweet and salty, you’re right.”
After the Internet reacted with disgust, she turned her bagel scandal into an opportunity to talk about the issues on Twitter. She wrote, “More than just my bagel preference!”
- She stuck up for herself after she was called “an unqualified lesbian”
In March, former New York City mayoral candidate Christine Quinn called Nixon “an unqualified lesbian.”
Nixon supported Bill de Blasio instead of Quinn, who is gay, when the two ran for N.Y.C. mayor in 2013.
“Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City. Now she wants an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York,” Quinn said to theNew York Post. “You have to be qualified and have experience. She isn’t qualified to be the governor.”
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Nixon clapped back against the title. She said, “It’s true that I never received my certificate from the Department of Lesbian Affairs, though in my defense there’s a lot of paperwork required.”
Her campaign also started selling “Unqualified Lesbian” buttons, according toElle.
source: people.com
