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The group touted Cuomo's record on LGBT rights as the reason it supported him, despite Nixon's campaign accusing him of lying to land the endorsement.Â
Despite an email blast from Cynthia Nixon's campaign for her New York gubernatorial bid that accused incumbent Andrew Cuomo of lying in order to land an endorsement from the LGBT organization the Stonewall Democrats, the group has thrown its support behind him, The New York Timesreports.
The Stonewall Democrats touted Cuomo's record on LGBT rights as a reason for supporting the incumbent over challenger Nixon, who is bisexual and progressive in her views.
"In a time when the Trump administration is actively rolling back anti-discrimination protections and working to erase the LGBTQ community, Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to enshrine and protect our community and expand the deliverable resources that New York State can provide us," the Stonewall Democrats said.
During his tenure, Cuomo signed a law legalizing same-sex marriage in the state, expanded housing for HIV-positive residents, and made it illegal for health care providers to discriminate against transgender people, notes the Times.
Prior to the Stonewall Democrats endorsing Cuomo, Nixon's campaign accused him of lying on a questionnaire about whether he to whether he ever supported a member of the now-disbanded Independent Democratic Conference, a group of Democratic state senators who collaborated with the Republican Party. Nixon has railed against Cuomo for allegedly encouraging the group to work against more progressive policies.
The Tony-winner also accused him of lying when asked if he'd ever supported a candidate with "track record of working against LGBT equality." Cuomo answered "no" to the question, but he did, in fact, support Bronx Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, who voted against marriage equality. Crespo eventually came around in favor of marriage equality and credited Cuomo with helping him to "evolve," according to the New York Daily News.
Cuomo said of the endorsement that the Stonewall Democrats are "one of the foremost leaders in the fight for the LGBTQ community, and it's an honor to have the endorsement of this historic club as we continue the march toward equal rights for all."
The Democratic gubernatorial primary will be held September 13.
