The progressive group Citizen Action has chosen Rhinebeck attorney Antonio Delgado as its preferred candidate among the seven Democrats competing to challenge Republican Rep. John Faso for New York’s 19th Congressional District seat.
“Citizen Action and its members are excited to be standing behind Antonio’s campaign,” Quintin Cross, lead organizer for Citizen Action’s Hudson Valley Chapter, said in a statement on Thursday after a press conference announcing the endorsement in Kingston. “Antonio has laid out a strong progressive vision for the region. We feel he will be a powerful advocate for struggling families and communities of color. The Hudson Valley is ready for a Congressperson who will put the needs of everyday people before the profits of rich donors.”
Delgado said he shared the group’s commitment to “shaking up the status quo with progressive activism,” and will fight with it for “social justice through political change.”
One of his rivals, Pat Ryan, touted this week a Democratic polling firm’s finding that he’s the only would-be challenger in the race who could beat Faso in a general election if it took place today – by a narrow 44-41 margin, according to the limited data from Public Policy Polling that he supplied.
“When I’m out talking to folks every day, I hear two things: We need someone who will fight for our progressive values, and we need someone who can beat John Faso,” Ryan, a Kingston native and Iraq war veteran, said in a press release. “We’ve had tremendous support for our campaign because people recognize I’m the only one who can do both.”
The seven Democrats running in a June 26 primary are Delgado, Ryan, Brian Flynn, David Clegg, Gareth Rhodes, Jeffrey Beals and Erin Collier. The district takes in all or parts of 11 counties, including all of Ulster and Sullivan.
Faso, the Columbia County Republican who succeeded Republican Chris Gibson in 2017, is running for a second term in November. The race also features Green Party candidate Steve Greenfield and independents Diane Neal and Luisa Parker, who have declared their candidacies but don’t have to file petitions until July.
(Update: Faso’s campaign announced Friday the endorsement of the Independence Party, giving him a coveted third-party line for the general election.)
