The Suffolk County Board of Elections certified the Huntington Town Supervisor election results Nov. 21 amid an ongoing furor surrounding Working Families Party candidate Maria Delgado, who told Newsday days after the election that she had “no idea” she was on the ballot. The New York State Attorney General’s office confirmed it is looking into complaints received.
Delgado amassed 1,219 votes for the minor party, politically left of the Democrats, far surpassing the 418-vote difference between Democrat Cooper Macco and the victorious incumbent Republican Ed Smyth.
The close race and unusual ballot prompted greater scrutiny by local and national media, surfacing accusations — and denials — of ballot raiding, whereby operatives working in favor of a mainstream candidate flood the voter pool in a minor party’s primary election to deliberately create a spoiler candidate in a general election.
“A lot of people are frustrated with the outcome of the election as a result of what would seem to be, sort of, manipulation by someone or some group of people in order to steal the Working Family Party line,” said Macco.
While Macco said he had not been involved in efforts since the election to bring clarity to the nature of Delgado’s candidacy, he said, “I certainly agree that we need to make sure that we have free and fair elections in the Town of Huntington.”
The Board of Elections confirmed to the Press that Delgado did not, nor was she required to, sign and file a certificate formally accepting her candidacy ahead of the Nov. 4 election. The Board of Elections did, however, mail at least two letters concerning her candidacy to Delgado’s Huntington Station address during April of 2025, and records confirm she voted in the primary and general elections.
While it is presently unclear exactly how and why Delgado — a registered member of the WFP but devoid of any public profile or campaign — became a candidate for town supervisor, one thing is clear: this is not an isolated incident.
Three additional elusive WFP candidates ran for elected office in Huntington, as well as three more in Southampton. Politico also reported that a Hudson Valley WFP candidate without an active campaign or public profile tipped the Clarkstown Town Council race to the Republican candidate.
In 2024, the New York chapter of the WFP said conservative operatives in New York’s 17th congressional district “successfully forced and won a surprise WFP primary … to confuse voters into voting for someone who is not a real candidate.”
During a Nov. 18 town board meeting, freshly re-elected Huntington Town Supervisor Smyth was asked directly by Northport resident and registered Democrat James Bartscherer, whether he had contacted, or if he planned to contact, the state attorney general’s office or the Suffolk County district attorney’s office in response to the “possible hijacking of the Working Families Party line.”
Smyth responded that he had not, nor did he intend to.
“I think that attention has already been brought to it,” Smyth said.
“We have more questions than answers,” said Huntington Station resident Quinn Dell at the meeting, who stressed that election integrity goes beyond political party lines. “Inaction speaks volumes.”
A total of six residents at the town board meeting expressed frustration over the inclusion of a candidate with questionable motive and provenance. Smyth did not comment further in the meeting or afterwards.
Macco was more forthcoming.
“Who knows what would have happened if Ms. Delgado wasn’t on the ballot?” he asked. “It’s really impossible to predict and to everyone saying that this cost me the election, I really, I’m not so sure. But I can tell you that the voters of Huntington deserve better than to be taken advantage of by bad actors behind the scenes, and I hope that the attorney general does complete a full investigation.”
Phil Dalton, a WFP member from East Northport and professor of political communication at Hofstra University, spoke out at the town board meeting as well.
“What happened in this election competes with the idea that our elections are an accurate measure of the public’s will,” he said, blaming a weak local branch of the WFP for paving the way for what happened in Huntington. “The Working Families Party has failed to build itself out to prevent what happened. The Democrats have known about it and have failed to publicize it. I believe the same is true about the GOP.”
In June, state lawmakers passed a bill that would empower the state’s political parties to disenroll members “based on lack of sympathy with party principles” which would create a mechanism for the WFP to prevent ballot raiding. Gov. Kathy Hochul has until the end of the year to sign, or veto, the bill before it expires. A spokesperson for the governor confirmed to the Press that Hochul will review the legislation.
“The election is over and certified,” a town spokesperson wrote in an email. “The Town of Huntington is going to move forward and continue to govern.”
The Huntington Town Board will reconvene on Dec 9. Attempts to reach Maria Delgado were unsuccessful.
