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David Lombardo is reporting for the Times Union Democratic congressional candidate Antonio Delgado is pulling ahead of Republican incumbent John Faso in the 19th Congressional District race, according to a Monmouth University poll released October 30. The poll has Delgado at 49 percent to Faso's 44 percent. The two third party candidates come in at a combined three percent and four percent of the voters surveyed are undecided. When factoring a surge of Democratic voters similar to special elections over the past year, Delgado's support jumps to 51 percent and his lead grows to eight percentage points. Delgado led Faso by three points in a Monmouth poll last month. Faso has never trailed in a poll conducted by the Siena Research Institute, which gave him a one-point margin in early October. Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray said Delgado has strengthened his position in the race even though Republican interest has picked up over the past month. "GOP ads have focused on Delgado's past as a hip-hop artist in an effort to paint him as out of step with the district, but these attacks haven't changed the overall trajectory of this race," he added. Delgado's favorable rating of 42 percent is the same as September, but his unfavorable rating increased eight points to 33 percent. The majority of voters polled, 42 percent, say Delgado shares their values, while only 36 percent feel that way about Faso. President Donald J. Trump has a negative job approval in the district, with 46 percent approving of his work in office and 51 percent giving him a thumbs down. The poll has a margin of error of 5.1 percent, and was conducted between October 24 and 28. Also on Oct. 30 the website fivethirtyeight.com moved the election between Faso and Delgado from "toss-up" to "lean Democrat." After the poll was released Delgado wrote on Twitter, "This five point lead is 100 percent because of the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. Thank you to everyone for leaning in to positive change. Together, we will win!" Faso also responded to the poll on Twitter, writing, "I spoke with @CBS6Albany about the state of this neck and neck race along with our efforts to turn out the vote on November 6. I'm confident that we will pull this out due to our consistent ground game." Faso also made a false statement on Twitter Oct. 30, writing, "I’ve kept my promise by voting to protect pre-existing conditions." The Washington Post debunked that claim Oct. 29. Faso doubled down on his deception, releasing an ad Oct. 30 called "Years Ago" again making the claim that he voted to protect pre-existing conditions in the nation's healthcare programs. The ad cites two bills Faso voted for, H.R. 1628 and H.R. 1121. But Faso also voted for the American Health Care Act, the Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Health Care Act, that would not have protected pre-existing conditions if Republican John McCain would not have stopped it with his last-minute vote.