An 83-year-old Long Island resident was surprised to learn she had appeared on the Working Families Party ballot line for her town’s supervisor race — despite never agreeing to run.
Maria Delgado, who ultimately lost to incumbent Republican Edmund Smyth, told reporters she was “flabbergasted” to find out she had been listed as a candidate. “I had no idea,” she said, according to Newsday.
Her daughter, Linda, who translated for her mother because she isn’t fluent in English, said Delgado’s first reaction was disbelief: “Is that a joke, or something?” Linda added that the entire situation was “unbelievable.”
Though Delgado says she’s been a longtime Republican, her name appeared under a party generally considered to the left of mainstream Democrats. Records show she last voted in 2016 as a registered Democrat before being re-registered with the Working Families Party, The New York Post reported.
Despite her lack of awareness, Delgado still received nearly 1,200 votes, according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections. Smyth narrowly won with 21,368 votes, defeating Democrat Cooper Macco, who earned 20,766.
Democrats have since accused their rivals of foul play. Suffolk Democratic Party Chairman Rich Schaffer alleged that Delgado was a “shill” candidate, telling Newsday, “I’m sure she probably doesn’t even realize she’s a candidate.” He claimed Republicans and Conservatives orchestrated the move “to siphon votes from the Democratic candidate,” adding, “It’s gone on over several cycles in Huntington.”
Party officials have accused Republican and Conservative operatives of conducting a party raid — a tactic meant to confuse voters by infiltrating the Working Families Party line.
Suffolk County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Garcia dismissed the allegations as “an outright lie,” saying in a statement that “Delgado’s candidacy was never objected to by Suffolk or Huntington Democrats and was verified multiple times.”
Shoshana Hershkowitz, co-chair of the Suffolk County Working Families Party, told HuntingtonNow that she didn’t know Delgado personally. “A group of corrupt individuals petitioned themselves onto the ballot, forced a primary and unfortunately won the primary,” she said, adding that the party had previously endorsed Macco.
