Actress Cynthia Nixon running for New York Govenor

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The actress Cynthia Nixon officially jumped into the race for governor of New York on Monday, setting off what promises to be a tumultuous six months as she challenges Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in this year’s Democratic primary.

Ms. Nixon, 51, has never before run for elected office and has chosen a huge undertaking for her first bid: seeking to unseat a two-term incumbent (and son of a three-term governor) who is sitting atop more than $30 million in campaign cash.

“Our leaders are letting us down,” she says in a video posted on Twitter, talking about the inequities in New York spliced between images of her walking on the streets of New York City and taking the subways.

“Something has to change,” she says in the ad. “We want our government to work again, on health care, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway. We are sick of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us. It can’t just be business as usual anymore.”

The contest will likely become one of the marquee Democratic primaries in the nation, as Ms. Nixon is widely expected to challenge Mr. Cuomo from the political left.

Mr. Cuomo has downplayed the challenge in recent days, though his political operation has busily sought to line up and burnish his progressive credentials.

If elected, Ms. Nixon, best known for her work in the “Sex and the City” franchise, would become the first female governor in New York history. She would also be the state’s first openly gay governor. Her wife, Christine Marinoni, recently stepped down from a post in the de Blasio administration.

Two former strategists for Mr. de Blasio, Bill Hyers and Rebecca Katz, have signed on to advise Ms. Nixon’s campaign.