New York: Adriano Espaillat Concedes (Again) to Charlie Rangel

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, seen here campaigning last month, conceded again to Rep. Charlie Rangel today, bringing the contentious primary officially to a close. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

New York State Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D), the top rival to Rep. Charlie Rangel in a bitter and closely contested primary, today conceded the race for the second time.

Espaillat also said he was dropping a lawsuit regarding the vote-counting in the June 26 race. On Election Day, it appeared Rangel had won by a wide margin, but further counting of ballots found the race to be much closer.

“My attorneys have advised me … that the math just doesn’t work. It’s virtually impossible for the results to change,” Espaillat said at a press conference today, according to a tweet from the New York Observer. Full story

New York: Charlie Rangel Vote Drama Deepens

Updated 6:38 p.m. | Longtime Rep. Charlie Rangel probably received more votes than any other candidate in June’s contentious and close 13th district Democratic primary in New York. But that doesn’t mean the 21-term Member has won renomination to his seat just yet.

The ongoing drama continued today as the New York City Board of Elections counted votes in the Harlem and Bronx-based district. With more ballots left to count, Rangel’s lead widened to more than 1,000 votes, according to a local reporter.

But the most interesting news came from a column in today’s New York Daily News. Columnist Juan Gonzalez said there were some apparently unusual meetings held between a BOE official and Rangel aides.

Full story

New York: Charlie Rangel Vote Drama Continues

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Vote counting continued today in New York’s 13th Congressional district to determine who won the close Democratic primary race between Rep. Charlie Rangel and state Sen. Adriano Espaillat.

The Associated Press determined Rangel to be the winner by a comfortable margin on the night of the election, but by Saturday, his lead was down to 802 votes. The Board of Elections today began counting provisional and absentee ballots.

It still appears unlikely that the 21-term incumbent will lose the race, but the case is under review by a judge, who could call for a recount, or even a revote, if irregularities in the voting process warrant. Full story

New York: Court Hears Charlie Rangel Ballot Challenge

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

There’s a bit of a worm in the apparent Big Apple primary victory of storied Rep. Charlie Rangel (D).

Rangel originally appeared to have beaten his top competitor, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, by a wide margin. The New York City Board of Elections now says that with normal ballots counted, Rangel is up by only 802 votes, or about 2 percent of votes cast.

But with more than 2,000 other paper ballots, such as provisional and absentee (from city voters as well as military service members overseas), as yet uncounted, his margin could shrink.

The results are still unofficial and there is a possibility, if very slight, that Rangel didn’t actually win the election. Or, at least, that there could be a recount. Full story

New York: Charlie Rangel Survives Primary Challenge

(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Twenty-one-term Rep. Charlie Rangel, the Democratic icon who chaired the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, survived the fiercest primary challenge of his career Tuesday night.

Despite a seemingly perfect storm of circumstances that swirled against the New York lawmaker this cycle, the force of incumbency and his long history in the district propelled him to victory against his top challenger, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat.

“No one was able to make a compelling case for why voters should take a chance and vote for someone different, which would mean the loss of seniority and perceived loss of power,” New York Democratic strategist Basil Smikle said. Full story

New York: Report Says Andrew Cuomo Endorses Charlie Rangel

Rep. Charlie Rangel (above) was endorsed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo today. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Powerful New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) today endorsed New York Rep. Charlie Rangel’s re-election bid,  the Empire State political blog Capital Tonight reports.

Rangel, facing a daunting Democratic primary challenge on Tuesday in the reconfigured 13th district, is seen by New York Democratic insiders as increasingly vulnerable as the result of a lackluster campaign.

There’s a growing sense among New York politicos that the 82-year-old Democratic icon, who was first elected in 1970, could well be unseated. His top competitor is ambitious state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who, if elected, would become the first Dominican-American Congressman. Also on the ballot are Clyde Williams, a former national political director at the Democratic National Committee, retired business executive Joyce Johnson, and frequent candidate Craig Schley.

The winner of the Democratic primary is almost certain to be the winner of the general election in November, given the heavy Democratic lean of the Harlem-anchored district.

New York: Alan Grayson Pitches for Charlie Rangel

Former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), running in a Democratic-leaning district in a bid to return to Congress, today emailed supporters soliciting donations for vulnerable Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.).

In the June 26 Democratic primary, the 82-year-old Rangel faces the most difficult election of his career since he unseated longtime Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (D-N.Y.) in 1970.

Grayson recounted Rangel’s biography, from his tough childhood in poverty to his heroic service and wartime injury during the Korean War.

“Charlie Rangel, that child of the ghetto, that fatherless dropout, that juvenile delinquent, that bedridden, wounded, crippled young man, is now the 20th longest-serving Member of Congress in history,” Grayson wrote. “Anybody can do anything.”

Full story

New York: Charlie Rangel Spending More Money Than He’s Raising

New York Rep. Charlie Rangel (D), in the toughest primary of his career since he came to Congress in 1970, pulled in more than $29,000 from fellow Members from April 1 to June 6, according to newly filed fundraising reports.

But all the help from his colleagues wasn’t enough to keep the campaign’s burn rate below 100 percent. The Rangel campaign spent $344,000 during the pre-primary period but raised $297,000 during that two-month period. That left the 82-year-old Congressman with just $179,000 in cash on hand as of June 6 — not a huge sum for the last days of a competitive election. The primary is June 26. Full story

New York: Charlie Rangel Picks Up Bloomberg Endorsement

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Charlie Rangel, facing a serious primary challenge next month, today picked up the endorsement of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) and former New York Mayor and Rep. Ed Koch (D).

“I’m proud to join with Ed Koch and so many others in endorsing Charlie Rangel,” Bloomberg said in a statement released by the veteran Democrat’s campaign. “For more than four decades, he has delivered for New York City time and time again. We’ve had six very different Mayors during his tenure in Congress, but we all shared one thing in common: when the City needs results in Washington, you pick up the phone and call Congressman Rangel.” Full story

New York: Super PAC Takes Aim at Charlie Rangel

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The Campaign for Primary Accountability, a nonpartisan super PAC that has successfully targeted incumbents this cycle by supporting primary challengers, will next turn its substantial financial resources against longtime Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.).

The group announced it “will make independent expenditures opposing Rep. Rangel and supporting state Sen. Adriano Espaillat.” Super PAC spokesman Curtis Ellis wouldn’t specify how much the CPA would spend against Rangel, but he noted that in its previous efforts, the group usually spends six-figure sums in its races. Full story

Anti-Incumbent Super PAC Adds Jones, Moran to Target List

Rep. Walter Jones Jr. is one of two Members that an anti-incumbent super PAC has decided to target. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated 7:39 p.m. | The Campaign for Primary Accountability plans to launch spending crusades against Reps. Walter Jones Jr. (R-N.C.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.) as part of the super PAC’s growing list of targeted races.

The deep-pocketed super PAC also announced a “Watch List” of more than two dozen veteran Members whom it plans to evaluate and potentially target during the height of primary season during the next three months. Full story

New York: Grimm Drumbeat Grows Louder

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The headlines about Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) could be worse — but it would take some imagination.

For now, however, Big Apple political operatives see him weathering the storm.

Full story

NYT Article Stirs Up Race to Take On Grimm

A New York Times article linking Rep. Michael Grimm to alleged campaign finance law violations could benefit the Democratic field looking to challenge him in the 13th district. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

An investigative article about Republican Rep. Michael Grimm (N.Y.) in today’s New York Times may expand the  Democratic field of challengers in his Staten Island-based 13th district.

The Times reported that three followers of a New York rabbi alleged that Grimm and the rabbi’s Israeli aide told them they “would find a way to accept donations that were over the legal limit, were given in cash or were given by foreigners without green cards.”
Full story