EXCLUSIVE: NY Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado on his role and new challenges in 2024

NEW YORK - Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado is entering his second year in office and in an exclusive sit-down interview with Fox 5’s Morgan McKay, he says he spent the first year speaking to New Yorkers from every corner of the state, learning what makes each community so unique. 

"I made a point last year to really get around and engage," Delgado explained. "What’s the thread line? Where's the through line within all these communities that I could center my service on and be the best partner that I can be for the governor in terms of trying to figure out what the vision might be for the state."

Delgado also started leading the state’s Hate and Bias Prevention Unit, which has set up 10 regionally based councils across the state in an effort to combat hate crimes that in recent years have skyrocketed.

Delgado says they have also launched a hotline that New Yorkers can call to report an incident.

"We're looking forward to providing grants to these councils that are doing proactive work on the ground to better create more sense of unity and purpose on the ground," Delgado said. 

Now looking ahead to this year, Delgado says he plans to set his sights on helping House Democrats get elected in swing districts – his Leadership PAC has already contributed to the campaigns of Mondaire Jones, Tom Suozzi and Congressman Pat Ryan. 

And Delgado is uniquely set up to help – he represented the 19th Congressional District from 2019 to 2022 before Governor Kathy Hochul tapped him to serve as her lieutenant governor.

But his former seat is now held by Republican Congressman Marc Molinaro – a district that Republicans are not going to give up without a fight.

However, Delgado says he is well-versed in bipartisanship.

"My district was a district that was won by our former president and 90% white," Delgado explained. "The ability to figure out how to have a message that is true to who you are, and can get above some of the partisanship and extremism is something that I just don't feel like I am speaking about, I've actually lived and I was effective."

But a Siena College poll that came out towards the end of last year – showed that more than 8 in 10 New Yorkers believe that the recent migrant surge in New York is a serious problem.

We asked Delgado how he thinks this might influence the election this year.

"It’s certainly an issue as you pointed out," Delgado said. "It is a national issue that implicates the entire country, and that certainly is at the doorstep of the federal government."

But Delgado says it will be important to encourage New Yorkers to back candidates who are actually dedicated to finding a solution to this crisis.

"It is important for voters to understand first and foremost when people talk about this issue, how are they communicating about it? What is their agenda," Delgado questioned. "Is the point to create anxiety, or is the point to solve for a problem that needs solving. If anybody is coming at it with an agenda other than that, they're not really in it for the right reasons."

Now one of the roles of the Lieutenant governor is to preside over the State Senate and he can even cast a vote if there is a tie.

Delgado says he looks forward to being more involved in the state legislature this next year. While he might not be a part of the main budget negotiations with the governor, senate majority leader, and the speaker of the assembly – he says he does have Hochul’s ear when it comes to setting priorities.

"It's incumbent, as Lieutenant Governor for me to really be out in the state, being the eyes and ears and understanding how best to utilize my sense of what's happening on the ground across different constituencies in a way that could inform her decision making," Delgado explained.

He said he will also be partnering with Hochul on several State of the State initiatives she will be announcing on Tuesday.