Delgado Running for 19th Congressional District
By Caroline Chan
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — On Tuesday, Nov. 6, midterms elections will be held in most states, including New York. These also include the congressional elections, meaning that those elected will take the seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Antonio Delgado (D) is running for Congress for New York’s 19th congressional district. He’s running against Republican incumbent John Faso, who has been the representative for New York since 2016.
Needless to say, it’s important that voters are well-informed — both about who the candidates are and what their stances on certain issues are — before voting. Delgado has held a number of town hall meetings, where he answered questions from attendees. He just had one in Ulster County on Sunday, Oct. 28, and will have another one in Dutchess County, at St. James Church Episcopal in Hyde Park, on Friday, Nov. 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Additionally, he has an entire section on his website that’s dedicated to explaining where he stands on 16 issues, ranging from jobs and the economy, to the environment, to farming, to women’s rights and LGBTQ+ people’s rights, to gun safety, and everything in between. It’s quite comprehensive — after looking through it, voters can really get a sense of where Delgado stands.
Delgado was raised in Schenectady, NY, so he’s very familiar with the area that he’d represent, with both of his parents working for General Electric. According to his website, “Antonio attended Colgate University, in Hamilton, New York, where he graduated with high honors and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. From there, he went to law school at Harvard.”
He was a rapper (known as AD the Voice) for a short stint — releasing a rap album in 2006 — before becoming an attorney. According to a Vox article, his raps “offered social commentary on topics including the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War, and capitalism.”
However, Faso and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) have used Delgado’s short music career to show why he’s unfit to become the representative for the 19th district. Not only is Faso trying to use Delgado’s lyrics against him, but the NRCC has created a number of ads against Delgado (a couple of them are in the Vox article), saying his raps were offensive overall, degrading to women, not representative of the people in the 19th district, and even unpatriotic.
That all notwithstanding, Delgado does have a number of organizations and individuals endorsing him — including former president Barack Obama. However, it seems like Obama is endorsing Democrat candidates in general.
According to Delgado’s website, Obama said, “‘I’m proud to endorse such a wide and impressive array of Democratic candidates — leaders as diverse, patriotic, and big-hearted as the America they’re running to represent…I’m confident that, together, they’ll strengthen this country we love by restoring opportunity that’s broadly shared, repairing our alliances and standing in the world, and upholding our fundamental commitment to justice, fairness, responsibility, and the rule of law’.”
Obama’s former counterpart, former vice president Joe Biden, also endorsed Delgado. According to Delgado’s website, Biden said, “‘I am proud to endorse Antonio Delgado for Congress in New York’s 19th congressional district. The people of upstate New York deserve an engaged representative with local, working class roots who understands their concerns and provides a positive vision for a better future. Antonio has consistently championed the right to universal quality, affordable healthcare for everyone. Antonio will continue to fight for the rights of everyone in his district by putting in the hard work and being accountable’.”
If Delgado doesn’t get the congressional seat, he will still have made history. By getting the Democratic nomination for the 19th district, Delgado has become the first Hispanic major party nominee. Additionally, according to a Chronogram article that reported on his nomination, “he is also the first biracial major party nominee.” However, if Delgado is elected to Congress, he’ll be the first non-white representative for the 19th district.
Regardless, whatever your political stance is, make sure to vote on Nov. 6. After all, that’s one of the major benefits of a democracy — everyone can have say in how their country is run, by getting to elect who represents them.
