HUDSON–Antonio Delgado has claimed victory in the Democratic primary in the 19th Congressional District.
Mr. Delgado, a lawyer who lives in Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, will be the party’s candidate in the race against incumbent Republican Congressman John Faso, a Kinderhook resident, on the November ballot.
In primary results from Columbia County–one of the 11 counties in the district in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills–Mr. Delgado had the second highest number of votes among the 7 candidates seeking the nomination. The leader here was Ulster County resident Gareth Rhodes. Pat Ryan received the third highest vote tally followed by Bryan Flynn.
The other candidates were Jeff Beals, Dave Clegg and Erin Collier.
In a statement released on June 26, Mr. Delgado congratulated the other Democrats seeking the nomination. “You all ran tough, good-natured campaigns and worked hard to give the people of this region an incredible selection of candidates to choose from.”
Antonio Degado
Of his victory, he said, “Tonight, we have taken the first step toward restoring dignity and integrity to our representation in New York 19. The people have spoken loudly and clearly: more than ideology, more than identity, more than class or background, we can all stand tall behind the unifying principles that our country was founded upon. Freedom, justice, equality and opportunity for all.”
He talked about working for “universal, affordable quality healthcare for all, to bring good jobs back to the Hudson Valley and the Catskills, and to create an economy that works for all of us.”
The Times Union reported that as of 11:38 p.m. Tuesday, with more than 84% of election districts reporting, Mr. Delgado had won nearly 22% percent of the vote district-wide. He had 7,022 votes, Mr. Rhodes was second with 5,708 votes and Pat Ryan had 5,465 votes based on the incomplete count.
Mr. Delgado raised $2.2 million, more than any of the other candidates in the race and more than Faso brought in during the same period.
Democratic voters narrowly outnumber Republicans in the district, but 26% of voters aren’t enrolled in a party and Mr. Faso defeated Democrat Zephyr Teachout by 25,000 votes in 2016.
Turnout for this week’s crowded Democratic primary was poised to hit 27%, nearly double the two-person Democratic primary in 2016 won by Ms. Teachout.
In a statement issued late Tuesday, Mr. Faso said, “I congratulate Mr. Delgado on his victory in the Democratic Primary Election. This November, Mr. Delgado will cast his first ever general election vote for Congress in our district after just moving here from New Jersey. He will soon learn, as the last two Democrat candidates for Congress before him, that our neighbors do not look kindly upon candidates who have just moved into our district and presume to represent us.”