Liberal Magazine Endorses Cynthia Nixon Over Andrew Cuomo

Cynthia Nixon won a prominent endorsement Wednesday in her quest to stop New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from winning a third term.

The Nation magazine -- a prominent voice for liberalism -- announced its "Cynthia Nixon for Governor" endorsement by declaring, "New Yorkers deserve a true progressive champion." The implication that Cuomo is a progressive in name only is pretty clear. The magazine lists the ways "The Cynthia Nixon Effect" has already pulled Cuomo to the left on numerous issues.

The Nation notes that "Cuomo's $30 million war chest" has scared away other contenders, but also implies ("hardly any of it from small donors") the money is evidence of where Cuomo has gone wrong: "If elected, [Nixon] won't be beholden to the entrenched interests and political machines that dominate state government. We can surely count on her to shake up business as usual."

The magazine of course notes the out bisexual's advocacy for LGBT rights, particularly marriage equality. But an anti-establishment current powers the endorsement, with the magazine calling this election "a referendum on the future. Do we want four more years of pay-to-play, where developers and political insiders call the shots?"

If you're counting endorsements, Hillary Clinton has publicly sided with Cuomo. So has the head of the Democratic Party, Tom Perez. And the party itself voted overwhelmingly in May to name Cuomo as its nominee, with Nixon failing to win enough votes to trigger a primary.

Nixon has said she will petition to get on the ballot by collecting signatures and has won the endorsement of Our Revolution, the group founded after Bernie Sanders lost the presidential primary. Howard Dean's PAC, Democracy for America, also endorsed Nixon. In Nixon's most controversial win, the Working Families Party endorsed her -- and Cuomo is accused of trying to exact revenge on the group, though he denies it. Nixon could also appear on the ballot as the WFP candidate.

Before Nixon declared her candidacy, Cuomo led in polls by 47 points. Then in April his lead was cut to 31 points. In May, the most recent poll, it was 22 points. The election will be held November 6.