Antonio Delgado | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Lieutenant Governor of New York | |
| Assumed office May 25, 2022 | |
| Governor | Kathy Hochul |
| Preceded by | Andrea Stewart-Cousins (acting) |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's19th district | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – May 25, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | John Faso |
| Succeeded by | Pat Ryan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Antonio Ramon Delgado (1977-01-28)January 28, 1977 (age 48) Schenectady, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
| Website | Office website Campaign website |
Antonio Ramon Delgado (born January 28, 1977) is an American attorney and politician serving as thelieutenant governor of New York since 2022. A member of theDemocratic Party, Delgado served as theU.S. representative fromNew York's 19th congressional district from 2019 to 2022. He is the firstAfrican–American and first person ofLatino descent to be elected toCongress fromUpstate New York[1] as well as the first Latino to hold statewide office in New York.[2]
On May 3, 2022, GovernorKathy Hochul announced that she had appointed Delgado to the then-vacant office of lieutenant governor of New York. Delgado was sworn in on May 25, 2022. On November 8, 2022, Delgado was elected to a full term as lieutenant governor. Following public disagreements with Hochul, Delgado said in February 2025 that he would not seek reelection as lieutenant governor in 2026. In June 2025, he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination forgovernor of New York in2026.
Delgado was born on January 28, 1977, inSchenectady, New York,[3] to Tony Delgado and Thelma P. Hill.[4] He isAfrican American and hasCape Verdean andLatino ancestry.[5] Delgado has three younger brothers and grew up in Schenectady's Hamilton Hill neighborhood.[6]
Delgado attendedNotre Dame-Bishop Gibbons High School and played for the school's basketball team. In his senior year,The Daily Gazette named Delgado to its all-area second team. He then enrolled atColgate University and played for theColgate Raiders men's basketball team alongside futureGolden State Warriors playerAdonal Foyle.[7][8] Delgado received aBachelor of Arts degree from Colgate in 1999[7] and earned aRhodes Scholarship to study atThe Queen's College, Oxford, from which he received aMaster of Arts in 2001.[9] In 2005, Delgado received hisJuris Doctor fromHarvard Law School.[10]
After law school, Delgado moved to Los Angeles in 2005 and worked in the music industry.[10] In 2007, he released asocially 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 firmAkin Gump.[13]
In the 2018 elections, Delgado ran for theUnited States House of Representatives inNew York's 19th congressional district. He defeated six other candidates in theDemocratic primary election and faced incumbentRepublicanJohn Faso in the November 6 general election.[14]
During the campaign, Delgado criticized Faso for voting against theAffordable Care Act.[15] Faso, alongside theCongressional Leadership Fund and theNational Republican Congressional Committee, attacked Delgado's former rap career,[16][17] calling 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 with 132,001 votes to Faso's 124,408.[20][21] He was sworn into office on January 3, 2019.[22]
Delgado ran for a second term in 2020. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Republican nominee Kyle Van De Water, an attorney and former trustee of the village ofMillbrook, New York,[23] in the general election with 192,100 votes to Van De Water's 151,475.[24]
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Delgado is the first person of eitherAfrican–American orLatino descent to be elected toCongress fromUpstate New York.[1]
Delgado had 18 bills signed into law as a member of Congress, including the Small Business Relief Accessibility Act, the Strengthening Financial Aid for Students Act, the Improving Benefits for Underserved Veterans Act, and the Direct Support for Communities Act.[25] He voted to impeach PresidentDonald Trump in 2019[26] and again in 2021.[27]
During the first 100 days of PresidentJoe Biden's administration, Delgado voted in line with Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[28]
Delgado left office in May 2022 to become lieutenant governor of New York.[29]
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On April 12, 2022, New York Lieutenant GovernorBrian Benjamin resigned from office after being arrested in a corruption scandal.[31] On May 3, 2022,New York GovernorKathy Hochul appointed Delgadolieutenant governor of New York.[32][33][34] He was sworn in on May 25.[35] Delgado is the first Latino to hold statewide office in New York.[2]
Delgado won the Democratic primary election forlieutenant governor with 58% of the vote and appeared with Hochul on the general election ballot.[36] Hochul and Delgado won the general election, defeating the Republican ticket ofLee Zeldin and Alison Esposito.[37]
On July 2, 2024, Hochul announced that she would run for reelection in2026 with Delgado as her running mate.[38]
On July 10, 2024, Delgado called for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the2024 United States presidential election.[39] His position on this issue conflicted with Hochul's, as she continued to support Biden's candidacy.[40]
On February 13, 2025, Delgado called for New York City MayorEric Adams to resign from office. Following Delgado's statement, Hochul's office said that Delgado "does not now and has not ever spoken on behalf of this administration".City & State New York reported that the "legal and leadership crisis in New York City" was "exposing the rift" between Hochul and Delgado.[41]
On February 24, 2025, Delgado announced that he would not seek reelection as lieutenant governor in 2026 and would explore other options. Hochul's office responded that Hochul "had already begun taking steps to identify a new running mate for 2026".[42]
In August 2025,Politico reported that Delgado had conducted little official business in his role as lieutenant governor since announcing a primary challenge to incumbent governor Kathy Hochul.Politico wrote, "Hochul has made sure Delgado has stayed far away: The governor this year reduced her hand-picked lieutenant's staff to one employee. She revoked his executive email account. And she even seized his cell phone."[43]
In June 2025, Delgado announced that he would challenge Hochul for the Democratic nomination for governor of New York in 2026.[44]
| 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 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| 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 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
| 2,879,092 | 48.77% | −7.39% | |
| Working Families |
| 261,323 | 4.43% | +2.55% | |
| Total |
| 3,140,415 | 53.20% | −6.42% | |
| Republican |
| 2,449,394 | 41.49% | +9.89% | |
| Conservative |
| 313,187 | 5.31% | +1.15% | |
| Total |
| 2,762,581 | 46.80% | +10.59% | |
| Total votes | 5,788,802 | 100.0% | |||
| Turnout | 5,902,996 | 47.74% | |||
| Registered electors | 12,124,242 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
Delgado marriedLacey Schwartz in 2011.[4] They have twin sons and live inRhinebeck, north ofPoughkeepsie.[7]
Delgado self-identifies as Afro-Latino.[46] He isAfrican American and hasCape Verdean andLatino ancestry.[5] Delgado has said that he hasMexican,Colombian, andVenezuelan ancestry on his mother's side.[46][47]
Delgado is 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall.[48]
Although an exact date has not been set, Governor Hochul said he will be sworn in sometime this month.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's 19th congressional district 2019–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Andrea Stewart-Cousins Acting | Lieutenant Governor of New York 2022–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forLieutenant Governor of New York 2022 | Most recent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
Elected and appointed statewide political officials ofNew York | ||
|---|---|---|
| U.S. senators |  | |
| State government | ||
| Senate | ||
| Assembly |
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| Court of Appeals (appointed) | ||
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
