Charles Rangel Wins Heated Congressional Latino Challenge
By Elaine de Valle and Rocio Gonzalez, Voxxi
He will likely head back to the House for his 22nd term in November; the 13th District is predominantly Democrat.
Before the last vote was counted — and in defiance of reports and opinion pieces that said he could easily lose to Espaillat — Rangel claimed victory with a comfortable double-digit lead with half of all the precincts reporting from the the newly-redrawn district, an advantage that seemed impossible for Espaillat to recover from.
Rangel — the dean of the state’s congressional caucus — seemed confident all day: From his morning interview on CNN, to the “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” blaring from the car radio when he got out to vote, to his “Lion of Lenox Avenue” banner that hung on his victory stage several hours before polls closed.
“I feel confident people recognize this is a serious time for our nation, for our community, and I’m the only one who has the experience to know what the needs are,” Rangel said on CNN.
Late Tuesday, he issued the following statement:
“Words cannot describe my overwhelming gratitude to the voters of the 13th congressional district of our great state for believing in me… I hope to begin the healing process of some of division that was created during the course of the campaign and am looking forward to meeting with all of my constituents and community leaders in the new district so we can work together on improving the lives of everyone living in Harlem, El Barrio, Washington Heights, Inwood and the Bronx.”
Despite a House ethics censure 18 months ago — for failing to pay all his taxes and for filing misleading financial disclosure statements — and changing demographics in a redrawn district that had many saying his days were numbered, Rangel won with 53 percent of the vote by 11 p.m. with about half the precincts reporting.
“The voters already have put that behind us,” Rangel said in the interview.
Espaillat – who many hoped would be the first Dominican American elected to Congress – came the closest to Rangel with 38 percent by 11 p.m. and media outlets were calling it a victory for Rangel. Less than an hour later, Espaillat the gap closed 40 percent for him and 45 percent for Rangel, with 10 percent going to Clyde Williams, who got the New York Times endorsement last week.
The challenger, who was counting on a boost from the Latino vote after the district was redrawn to include more Hispanics, may have been hurt by the low turnout because of the timing. This is the first June primary in New York in years.
While both campaigns were careful to make sure they spoke about representing both the African-American and the Hispanic constituency that includes residents of Harlem, the Bronx, Upper Manhattan and Washington Heights, the race was closely watched as a potential first sign of the highly-anticipated and much-coveted Latino vote. Specific demographic breakdowns were not available Tuesday.
Rangel and his campaign staff have said repeatedly that his district has always had a large number of Hispanic voters.
“I went to school in the Bronx and if you would to walk with me so many times the last few weeks, you can’t tell the difference between being in Harlem and being in the Bronx,” Rangel said on CNN, adding that the issues he’s pursued in Washington – earned income tax credit, empowerment zone, low income housing tax credits – overlap into both neighborhoods.
“The things I’ve been able to do I’ve done for Harlem and the Bronx as well,” he said.
In another New York Congressional race, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who represents the 12th district now, won the Democratic primary for the newly-redrawn 7th District Tuesday night. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, she had an even wider lead than Rangel’s: 62 percent of votes compared to 25 percent for New York City Councilman Erik Martin Dilan.
Many had speculated that the race would be a closer, but although her margin made it seem like a coast, Velázquez — the first and only Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress — endured a tough campaign and the first time in her 20-year career she was challenged by three men: Dilan, economist Dan O’Connor and activist George Martínez.
This article was first published in Voxxi.
Miami-based writer and Voxxi Senior Editor Elaine de Valle is a veteran political and investigative journalist and former Miami Herald staff reporter with two team Pulitzer Prizes and an Emmy Award under her belt. She is the author of the blog Political Cortadito (www.politicalcortadito.com) in which she serves as a watchdog and sometimes writes as her alter ego, Ladra, who barks at the inequities, inefficiencies and malfeasance of government officials, political candidates and their campaign machinery. Her blog posts have broken news and have been followed by local and national media and, in January 2012, Political Cortadito was named one of the top 10 political blogs by Miami New Times.
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[Photo by RepRangel]