The National Republican Congressional Committee released an ad Friday labeling Antonio Delgado, the Democratic candidate for New York’s 19th Congressional District, a “big city rapper.”
“Just like Governor Cuomo and Nancy Pelosi, big city rapper Antonio Delgado supports their radical government takeover of health care,” the narrator in the ad says.
{mosads}The video is titled “NY-19: ‘Can’t Afford Delgado.’”
Delgado, who is black and formerly rapped under the stage name A.D. The Voice, is running against Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), who is serving his first term in Congress.
This isn’t the first time he’s been attacked over his rap career.
The NRCC released an ad earlier this month that 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.
“It’s disappointing that John Faso and his supporters are still focused on distractions by spreading fear, hatred, and division. We continue to call on Faso to condemn these divisive and deceptive ads,” Delgado said in a statement at the time.
Neither the Delgado nor Faso campaigns immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the new ad.
The NY-19 race is very close, with a Monmouth University poll released earlier this month showing Delgado with a 48-45 lead over Faso among likely voters, a lead that falls within the margin of error.
The district voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012, but voted for President Trump in 2016. The Cook Political Report rates the seat as a “toss up.”