'Law & Order' actress Diane Neal to run for Congress in New York

The Associated Press | Associated Press

KINGSTON, N.Y. — New York will see another female celebrity with political hopes campaigning this fall: Former Law & Order actress Diane Neal is seeking a new gig as representative of a sprawling congressional district in upstate New York.

Neal, 42, is one of the multitude of actors who have come and gone on the original L&O, once the longest-running crime drama on American primetime, and its spinoff shows.

From 2001-2012, she played Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak on Law & Order: SVU, now in its 19th season. More recently, in 2015, Neal appeared on NCIS: New Orleans, The Following and Blue Bloods.

On Wednesday, she launched her campaign for the 19th Congressional District, where she has lived for four years. She announced her independent candidacy in February.

The district north of the New York City metro region is a key battleground in the November midterm elections.

First-term incumbent Rep. John Faso is one of six Republican House members targeted in New York by the Democratic Party, and the Republican National Committee is determined to defend his seat.

Seven candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination, but Neal is running as an independent.

She's not the only ex-actress trying to get elected in New York this year: Cynthia Nixon, 51, who played Miranda on Sex and the City from 1998-2004, is challenging New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this fall.

She launched her campaign in March and has already garnered a flurry of media coverage with a platform based on criticizing Cuomo for a legacy of "disappointment, dysfunction and dishonesty."