Cynthia Nixon suggests using petition route to get on ballot
Actress Cynthia Nixon speaks onstage at The People's State Of The Union at Townhall on Jan. 29, 2018 in New York City. Credit: Getty Images for We Stand United / Cindy Ord
ALBANY — Cynthia Nixon said Monday she is likely to try to secure a spot on the Democratic gubernatorial primary ballot by gathering petition signatures rather than contesting Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at the party primary next month.
To qualify for a primary, a candidate can either obtain 25 percent of the delegates’ vote at party convention or gather 15,000 signatures from party members. Given that Cuomo controls the state party apparatus, many politicians and analysts suspected Nixon might go the outsider route to the ballot.
Though she didn’t rule out attending the convention, Nixon said: “I tend to think we’re going to be collecting signatures.”
The Democrats’ convention is slated for May 23-24 in Uniondale.
Cuomo himself went the petition route in 2002, when he challenged then-Comptroller H. Carl McCall for the party’s gubernatorial nomination.
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