Delgado edges out Republican in New York’s swingy 19th Congressional District

Attorney Antonio Delgado (D) edged out a victory Tuesday against incumbent Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.) in New York’s 19th Congressional District to fulfill Democrats’ hopes of flipping the hotly contested seat.

The district was home to one of the nation’s tightest House races and a seat Democrats were keen on flipping, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee adding it to their “red to blue” program.

The district voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012, but voted for President Trump in 2016. 

Delgado will be the first Democrat to represent the district since the beginning of 2011.

The race was characterized by ads from the National Republican Congressional Committee that focused on Delgado’s past career as a rapper, which some criticized as racist against the Democrat, who is black.

One ad released in September titled “NY-19: ‘Can’t Afford Delgado,’” labels him a “big city rapper.”

Another released earlier in September spliced together some of the scenes from a music video by Delgado in which he uses the n-word, profanity, references to sexual acts and says “God bless Iraq,” with images of the candidate giving a standard campaign speech in more formal attire.

Faso distanced himself from the ads during the campaign.