Poll: John Faso dead-even in reelection bid against Democratic challenger

Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.) is dead even against Democratic challenger Antonio Delgado in the House race in New York’s 19th District, a new poll showed.

The poll from Monmouth University showed Delgado leading first-term Congressman Faso leading by 45 percent to 43 percent, within the margin of error, while 9 percent are undecided.

{mosads} The poll surveyed voters who have participated in an election since 2010 or have newly registered to vote.

The race remains statistically even under a historical midterm model, with Delgado leading Faso by 48 percent to 45 percent. A model that includes a turnout surge in Democratic precincts gives Delgado a 49 percent to 43 percent, also within the margin of error for the model, Monmouth said. 

The poll comes out at a time when the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has released an ad attacking Delgado for his past as a rapper. 

The video splices together some of the scenes from a music video by Delgado in which he uses the n-word, profanity, and references to sexual acts, with images of the candidate giving a standard campaign speech in more formal attire. 

Faso’s campaign told The Hill it had no control over the ad, but noted that “Delgado’s words have been an issue for some time and it is his responsibility as a candidate to answer for the controversial views he expressed and whether he continues to hold these views today.”

Delgado’s campaign did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Hill regarding the NRCC ad.

The Monmouth poll was conducted by telephone from September 6 to 10, 2018 with 401 voters in the district. The margin of error was of +/- 4.9 percentage points for the full sample and +/- 5.4 percentage points for the likely voter model