Cynthia Nixon: I’m a democratic socialist

Former “Sex and the City” star and New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon said Tuesday that she considers herself a democratic socialist.

It’s the first time the Emmy Award-winning actress — with a reported net worth of $60 million — has described herself in those terms, Politico reported.

“Some more establishment, corporate Democrats get very scared by this term but if being a democratic socialist means that you believe health care, housing, education and the things we need to thrive should be a basic right not a privilege then count me in,” Ms. Nixon wrote in an email to Politico.

“As Martin Luther King put it, call it democracy or call it democratic socialism but we have to have a better distribution of wealth in this country,” she said. “I have long stood in support of a millionaires tax, Medicare for all, fully funding our public schools, housing for all and rejecting all corporation donations — all of which align with democratic socialist principles.”

Ms. Nixon, who is running against Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a Democratic primary this September, said people like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were “dead wrong” to think socialism would remain a fringe element of the Democratic Party.

“I think that of course wealthy people and big corporations have always had an outsized influence on American politics and world politics, but at this moment, when you look at what the agendas of corporations are and you look at governmental policies, there is almost no daylight between them,” she said.

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, said Ms. Nixon’s views won’t resonate with voters.

“Millionaires like Cynthia Nixon may be able to dream about socialist paradises, but here in the real world, people can’t afford the taxes they have,” Mr. Molinaro told Politico. “New York spends too much as is. If Ms. Nixon thinks socialism is the answer, she should ask the people of Venezuela.”