Antonio Ramon Delgado (born January 28, 1977) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative from New York's 19th congressional district. The district includes most of the southern and eastern suburbs of the Capital District as well as the majority of the Hudson Valley and Catskills regions. He is the first person of either African-American or Latino descent to be elected to Congress from Upstate New York.[1]
Antonio Delgado | |
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Lieutenant Governor-designate of New York | |
Assuming office May 25, 2022 | |
Governor | Kathy Hochul |
Succeeding | Andrea Stewart-Cousins (acting) |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 19th district | |
Incumbent | |
Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | John Faso |
Personal details | |
Born | Antonio Ramon Delgado (1977-01-28) January 28, 1977 (age 45) Schenectady, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2 |
Education |
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Website | House website |
Delgado was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, defeating incumbent Republican John Faso. He was reelected in 2020. On May 3, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she had appointed Delgado to serve as lieutenant governor of New York. Delgado is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday, May 25.[2]
Delgado was born in 1977 in Schenectady, New York,[3] to Tony Delgado and Thelma P. Hill.[4] He is of African-American[5] and Cape Verdean[6] ancestry. Delgado has a younger brother, Kito. He grew up in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood of Schenectady.[7]
Delgado attended Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons High School and played for the school's basketball team as a forward. In his senior year, The Daily Gazette named Delgado to its all-area second team. He then enrolled at Colgate University and played for the Colgate Raiders men's basketball team alongside future Golden State Warriors player Adonal Foyle.[8][9] Delgado graduated from Colgate in 1999[8] and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to study at The Queen's College, Oxford, from which he received a Master of Arts in 2001.[7] In 2005, Delgado graduated from Harvard Law School.[10]
After law school, Delgado moved to Los Angeles in 2005 and worked in the music industry.[10] In 2007, Delgado released a socially conscious rap album under the stage name "AD the Voice."[11][12] He then worked as a litigator in the New York office of the law firm Akin Gump.[13]
In the 2018 elections, Delgado ran for the United States House of Representatives in New York's 19th congressional district. He defeated six other candidates in the Democratic Party's primary election and faced incumbent Republican John Faso in the November 6 general election.[14]
During Delgado's campaign, he criticized Faso for his votes against the Affordable Care Act.[15] Faso, alongside the Congressional Leadership Fund and the National Republican Congressional Committee, launched attacks on Delgado's former rap career,[16][17] commonly referring to Delgado as a "big city rapper."[18] The New York Times Editorial Board condemned the attacks as "race-baiting."[19]
Delgado won the general election, receiving 132,001 votes to Faso's 124,408.[20][21] He was sworn into office on January 3, 2019.[22]
Delgado ran for reelection to a second term in 2020. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and faced Republican nominee Kyle Van De Water, an attorney and former trustee of the village of Millbrook, New York.[23] Delgado won the general election with 192,100 votes to Van De Water's 151,475.[24]
As of November 2021, Delgado had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[25]
On May 3, 2022, after Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin resigned, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Delgado lieutenant governor of New York. Delgado is expected to be sworn in by the end of May.[27][28] He will appear on the Democratic primary ballot in the 2022 election for lieutenant governor.[29]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Antonio Delgado | 8,576 | 22.1 | |
Democratic | Pat Ryan | 6,941 | 17.9 | |
Democratic | Gareth Rhodes | 6,890 | 17.7 | |
Democratic | Brian Flynn | 5,245 | 13.5 | |
Democratic | Jeff Beals | 4,991 | 12.9 | |
Democratic | David Clegg | 4,257 | 11.0 | |
Democratic | Erin Collier | 1,908 | 4.9 | |
Total votes | 38,808 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Antonio Delgado | 135,582 | 47.1 | |
Working Families | Antonio Delgado | 9,237 | 3.2 | |
Women's Equality | Antonio Delgado | 3,054 | 1.1 | |
Total | Antonio Delgado | 147,873 | 51.4 | |
Republican | John Faso | 112,304 | 39.0 | |
Conservative | John Faso | 16,906 | 5.9 | |
Independence | John Faso | 3,009 | 1.0 | |
Reform | John Faso | 654 | 0.2 | |
Total | John Faso (incumbent) | 132,873 | 46.1 | |
Green | Steven Greenfield | 4,313 | 1.5 | |
Independent | Diane Neal | 2,835 | 1.0 | |
Total votes | 287,894 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Antonio Delgado | 168,281 | 48.0 | |
Working Families | Antonio Delgado | 22,969 | 6.6 | |
SAM | Antonio Delgado | 850 | 0.2 | |
Total | Antonio Delgado (incumbent) | 192,100 | 54.8 | |
Republican | Kyle Van De Water | 151,475 | 43.2 | |
Libertarian | Victoria Alexander | 4,224 | 1.2 | |
Green | Steve Greenfield | 2,799 | 0.8 | |
Total votes | 350,598 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Delgado married Lacey Schwartz in 2011.[4] In 2015, Schwartz made Little White Lie, a documentary film for PBS about being biracial.[7] Delgado and Schwartz have twin sons and live in Rhinebeck, north of Poughkeepsie.[8]
Delgado is 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall.[30]
Although an exact date has not been set, Governor Hochul said he will be sworn in sometime this month.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antonio Delgado. |
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by John Faso |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 19th congressional district 2019–present |
Succeeded by TBD |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Andrea Stewart-Cousins Acting |
Lieutenant Governor of New York Taking office 2022 |
Designate |
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by Madeleine Dean |
Seniority in the U.S. House of Representatives 305th |
Succeeded by Veronica Escobar |
New York's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
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