Cynthia Nixon: Democrats need to let black women lead party

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon has cited the exclusion of a black female legislative leader from the state's budget negotiations as an example of where the Democratic Party needs to improve when it comes to promoting women leaders.

During the "Sex and the City" star's first national television interview aired Wednesday on "The Wendy Williams Show," Nixon called black women the "cornerstone" and "backbone" of the Democratic Party.

But Nixon added that black women will stop showing up for the Democratic Party "if the Democratic Party doesn't start showing up for them."

Her comment came after she mentioned that Andrea Stewart-Cousins wasn't included in weeks of closed-door talks that led to last Sunday's passage of the budget. Stewart-Cousins leads the state Senate's mainstream Democrats.