Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) picked up a primary challenge Monday from New York state Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D), frustrating Rangel’s reelection prospects in a district that has become overwhelmingly Hispanic.
Espaillat, a Dominican-American and rising Democratic figure, has served in the state Senate since 2010. He said he was mounting a congressional campaign because he believed voters are looking for bold, new leadership.
“I have been honored to represent Northern Manhattan and the Bronx in the state legislature, where we’ve successfully fought for progressive solutions to New York’s challenges, and I am ready to bring the same energy and passion that has defined my career in the state legislature to Congress,” Espaillat said.
Espaillat’s decision to run reflected a harsh reality for Rangel, a 21-term congressman and founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, whose Harlem-area district has witnessed the slow exodus of African-American voters over the past few decades.
Espaillat has flirted with a possible run for the past few months, indicating that he wanted to run in a majority Hispanic district he hoped would be created by redistricting. Rangel, too, had been hoping that redistricting could shore up his prospects by adding heavily African-American areas north of his Harlem base to his district, a proposal floated by some Rangel supporters in the legislature.
But state lawmakers gridlocked for months on a new map and a court intervened, adopting its own map. Parts of the Bronx were added to the district — but not enough to alter the demographic math for Rangel.
The redrawn district is majority Hispanic, which will work in the favor of Espaillat, who chairs the Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus in the state Senate.
“I intend to conduct a vigorous campaign that will allow a full debate on the future of our city and state,” Espaillat said in a statement that was circulated in both English and Spanish. “Together, we can make history and bring real change that uplifts our communities and builds a stronger New York and a stronger country.”
Rangel has been quashing speculation that he is pursuing a 22nd term so he can resign and hand over his seat to a close ally in the legislature. Rangel said last week that he plans to run again and serve out the entire term.
Redistricting isn’t the only issue complicating Rangel’s reelection efforts. Rangel has paid multiple visits to the hospital in recent years as he deals with a back injury. His reputation has also never fully recovered from the ethics allegations that led to him being censured by the House in 2010. Rangel agreed in March to $23,000 in civil fines for using a rent-stabilized apartment in Harlem as a campaign office.
Fundraising has apparently been problematic as well for Rangel, who reportedly wrote fellow House Democrats in March to ask them to chip in to his campaign. Rangel had just $250,000 in his campaign account as of the end of 2011, and barely $1,000 in his PAC.
A handful of other Democrats are also in the primary, including former Clinton administration official Clyde Williams and activist Joyce Johnson. The winner of the primary is expected to win the general election in this heavily Democratic district.
(Source: The Hill)
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Rangel is thoroughly corrupt, even among the Democrats in Congress who are an unusually corrupt bunch. Remember four years ago when they somehow managed to create a public impression that Republicans were corrupt? One or two Republicans had been caught with their fingers in the till, and suddenly the whole GOP was tainted. Meanwhile the Democrats have at least 20 or 30 members who have been enriching themselves for years, and everyone has known about it, and they remain honored leaders of the Democrat caucus, committee chairmen, and they still insist that they are the “clean” party.