Mr. Delgado is also expected to serve as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s running mate in her campaign for a full term this year, replacing former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday she had chosen Representative Antonio Delgado, a Democrat from the Hudson Valley, as her new lieutenant governor, the second-highest-ranking position in New York State.
Mr. Delgado is expected to serve as Ms. Hochul’s running mate as she campaigns for a full term this year. He will replace former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who was indicted on federal bribery charges last month, leading to his abrupt resignation.
A group of New York Democrats empowered with formally replacing Mr. Benjamin endorsed the choice of Mr. Delgado as Ms. Hochul’s running mate Tuesday morning, ensuring that he would be on the ballot in June’s party primary, according to three people familiar with the process. Jay Jacobs, the Democratic Party chairman, was expected to fly required paperwork approving the choice to Albany later on Tuesday.
Mr. Delgado, 45, who has represented New York’s 19th Congressional District since 2019, has proved he can win hotly contested elections and will help Ms. Hochul diversify her ticket. He identifies as African American and Latino, with family roots in the West African island nation of Cape Verde.
Like Ms. Hochul, he hails from outside New York City, where much of the Democratic primary electorate resides, and has campaigned as a political moderate.
“Having won competitive primary and general elections for Congress, Representative Antonio Delgado is a battle-tested campaigner who has the experience to serve New Yorkers and the work ethic to get our party’s message out to voters, unite communities and lift up Democratic candidates statewide,” Ms. Hochul said.
Ms. Hochul did not immediately say when Mr. Delgado would take the oath of office.
In his own statement, Mr. Delgado downplayed the state’s geographic differences.
“Upstate, downstate, doesn’t matter,” he said. “We all want the same things: security, family and opportunity.”
The announcement came one day after state lawmakers passed legislation on Monday at Ms. Hochul’s behest to allow Mr. Benjamin to be removed from the state Democratic primary ballot and replaced with another candidate ahead of the primary for governor, scheduled for June 28.
Mr. Delgado will have to give up his congressional seat to serve out the remainder of Mr. Benjamin’s term as lieutenant governor, a largely ceremonial role entrusted with few statutory duties. The lieutenant governor also serves as governor if the governor dies, resigns, is impeached or is absent or disabled.
Mr. Delgado was likely to face a difficult re-election fight this fall. Democrats had tried to add friendly voters to his district when they approved a new congressional map earlier this year, but the state’s highest court struck down the newly drawn district lines last week. Court-drawn lines are likely to make the seat far more competitive.
In the June primary for lieutenant governor, Mr. Delgado will face two opponents, both Latina women: Diana Reyna, a former New York City Council member, and Ana María Archila, a progressive activist. Ms. Reyna is campaigning with Representative Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat from Long Island running for governor as a staunch moderate, while Ms. Archila has aligned herself with Jumaane Williams, the New York City public advocate running to Ms. Hochul’s left.
Ms. Hochul initially picked Mr. Benjamin, a Black former state senator from Harlem, as her running mate in August, just a few days after she became governor following former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s sudden resignation. She had chosen Mr. Benjamin in an effort to broaden her appeal among city voters.
After Mr. Benjamin stepped down last month, Ms. Hochul was once again forced to choose a running mate. She considered a handful of officials of color, though it appears she did not constrain her options to those hailing from the downstate region. The selection process was kept remarkably under wraps, devoid of the leaks that defined Ms. Hochul’s first, flawed search for a second-in-command.
This time, the governor was determined to pick a lieutenant governor without any red flags and asked Elizabeth Fine, the counsel to the governor, and Marty Mack, the appointments secretary, to oversee a team of lawyers scrubbing candidates’ backgrounds.
Ms. Hochul’s team was particularly impressed with Mr. Delgado’s record of winning and holding one of the most competitive swing districts in the country against Republican opponents who tried to brand him as a “big-city rapper,” according to people familiar with her decision. He is also a prolific fund-raiser.
In Congress, Mr. Delgado has largely avoided entering the kind of partisan fights that dominate cable news and rarely, if ever, speaks with reporters. He served on the agriculture, small business and transportation committees and has one of the most moderate voting records of any Democrat.
John Faso, a former Republican congressman who lost to Mr. Delgado in 2018, called the selection a “good choice.”
“It shows the paucity of the New York City bench for this position,” Mr. Faso said. “They got burned on picking Brian Benjamin. Now they’ve got a guy who went through a very competitive race in 2018 and doesn’t have the baggage that other candidates might have had.”
Without an incumbent, Mr. Delgado’s seat could become even more favorable for Republicans this year. Marc Molinaro, a Republican and the Dutchess County executive who ran for governor in 2018, had already filed to run against Mr. Delgado.
Pat Ryan, the executive in Ulster County, who narrowly lost to Mr. Delgado in the Democratic primary for the seat in 2018, is seriously considering running for the now-open seat, according to two people familiar with his thinking.
Ms. Hochul was scheduled to appear with Mr. Delgado in the State Capitol in Albany on Tuesday afternoon to unveil him as her pick.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
