BUFFALO, N.Y. — She's known for the television show Sex in the City, but is Cynthia Nixon known anywhere outside of New York City?

"Politically I don't think so, like I didn't really know much about her. I learned a lot in the last few days, what she's been doing for public education and stuff like that," Chuck Hess, Liberty Union Progressives, said.

Democrats in Western New York said the actress turned gubernatorial candidate has some work to do if she plans to make a significant push in a primary against the governor.

"Cynthia Nixon definitely has an uphill battle to introduce herself. Even in her opening video you didn't see a lot of upstate. You didn't see a lot of upstate issues," analyst Jack O'Donnell said.

O'Donnell noted it's not just unfamiliarity working against Nixon. Cuomo is relatively popular in the region where he's focused plenty of time and money with his Buffalo Billion initiative over the last two terms.

"There are a lot of people in Western New York who are still seeing the effects of the investment both psychologically and tangibly," he said.

Still, O'Donnell pointed out a progressive candidate doing well in Western New York is not unprecedented. Bernie Sanders was less than 2,000 votes away in the 2016 presidential primary from taking Erie County — a place often called Clinton Country.

"We're also talking about a portion of the electorate, the Democratic primary voters, who tend to be very far to the left," he said.

Hess said Cuomo needs a challenger.

“Going back to what our group started, it was the Bernie-Hillary primary. Bernie brought Hillary to the left. I think somebody needs to come in and bring Andrew to the left," he said.

Liberty Union Progressives once was ‘Buffalo for Bernie.’ Hess said says he believes Nixon shares similar values as the group but it has not made any kind of endorsement.

"She's already been kind of pegged as the New York City candidate so it would be nice if she makes it around the state and really shows that she wants to represent the whole state," he said.

Hess says Nixon has reached out to New York Progressive Action Network of which Liberty Union Progressives is part.