Delgado to take oath this week
Special election to fill his congressional seat will be on day of August primaries
Two weeks after announcing U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado would be tapped as her next lieutenant governor, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday confirmed that the Rhinebeck Democrat will be sworn in on Wednesday, setting up a special election to fill his unexpired congressional term on the same day as the Aug. 23 congressional primary.
“Antonio Delgado is a phenomenal leader and public servant with a record of getting things done for New Yorkers, and he will serve as a trusted partner as New York’s lieutenant governor,” Hochul said in a statement Monday.
The decision to schedule the special election on the same day as primary races for Congress and the state Senate comes after the administration’s critics on both sides of the aisle critiqued the governor for delaying a decision that is expected to benefit Democrats.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, a Democrat, and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, a Republican, are expected to face off in the special election. But in November, due to newly drawn congressional boundaries, it’s likely that Ryan will run
for Congress in the 18th Congressional District while Molinaro said he will compete for the 19th District seat.
The timing means that Ryan could win the special election in the 19th District on the same day he wins a primary in the 18th District. Both Molinaro and Ryan are expected to be partybacked candidates, if they do face primary challenges.
Democratic turnout is expected to be higher on the day of the scheduled primary than it would be on a special election day, which would likely favor Ryan.
Molinaro, the 2018 Republican nominee for governor, has railed against Hochul and the Democratic establishment for what he has labeled as backroom deals that are emblematic of cultural problems in Albany.
“It now appears, after they cooked up an insider deal with Pat Ryan, that the Democrats are finally poised to fulfill their responsibility and appoint Antonio Delgado as (lieutenant governor),” Molinaro said in a statement.
Previously, while awaiting further details from the administration on when Delgado would become the lieutenant governor, Molinaro told the Times Union that the plan was to “maximize Democratic benefit.”
“If it isn’t that, it’s very easy to clear up: Just announce the dates,” Molinaro said on May 12. “But they are not going to, because it is about backroom deal making to leverage the best political outcome for Democrats in Washington and in Albany.”
At the time, Delgado’s team declined comment on when he would be resigning from Congress; Hochul’s office said that they were “working with the lieutenant governor-designate’s team on the transition.” Later on, both Hochul and Delgado’s teams said the announcement was imminent, without providing details.
On the announcement of his swearing-in date, Delgado, who grew up in Schenectady and lives in Rhinebeck with his wife, Lacey, and their twin 8-year-old sons, Maxwell and Coltrane, said he is “ready to put my years of experience and ability to connect people to work for the entire state of New York.”
Delgado was elected to his first term in Congress in 2018 and is chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit. He also serves on the House’s Small Business and Transportation and Infrastructure committees.
Delgado has endorsed Ryan in the special election. When he did so on Twitter earlier this month, Ryan had made the first formal announcement that the special election would be in August. Ryan’s campaign spokesman said that he expected it to be on Aug. 23 based on prior public statements from the governor, but the county executive had no inside information on the scheduled date.
Earlier this month, Hochul selected Delgado to replace her first lieutenant governor, Brian A. Benjamin, who left office after being indicted on federal campaign-related bribery charges. Benjamin denies wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
When Hochul held an event to officially announce Benjamin as her lieutenant governor — to fill the position she vacated when she succeeded former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo following his resignation under threat of impeachment — she had celebrated her future political partnership with the Harlem Democratic establishment. She had said she wanted to select a diverse candidate who could represent the state in New York City.
Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP New York State Conference, described Benjamin as “a man of integrity, a man of passion, a man of love to work with this governor.” Hochul has called Dukes her “mother on Earth.” Hochul, Dukes and Benjamin appeared at the state Democratic Party nominating convention earlier this year.
Benjamin had been tasked with keeping tabs on the state’s criminal justice issues, including a task force on interstate gun trafficking and helping to shape amendments to the state’s controversial bail laws.
Hochul said she expects Delgado to focus on issues related to education, affordable housing, economic development and infrastructure, as well as acting as a “key liaison” with the congressional delegation.
Following Delgado’s swearingin, Hochul must within 10 days issue a proclamation declaring when the special election will take place — which would need to be within 70 to 80 days. By the 80th day, following the 10 days after Delgado’s resignation from Congress and swearing-in, it will be Aug. 23, the same day as the rescheduled primary election.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and activist Ana Maria Archila, progressive running mates for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, previously accused Hochul of delaying Delgado’s swearing-in for political benefit, too.
“Gov. Hochul has shown time and time again that she is willing to move fast when it serves her personal interest, but won’t do the same when it comes to meeting people’s needs,” Williams and Archila said in a joint statement on May 13. “She forced the Legislature to rush and change the election rules for her benefit, and now she is stalling because of how irresponsible her decision was.”
The timing means that Ryan could win the special election in the 19th Congressional District on the same day he wins a primary in the 18th District. Both Molinaro and Ryan are expected to be party-backed candidates, if they do face primary challenges.