Representative Charles B. Rangel, seeking a 23rd term, held a slim lead in a fierce battle late Tuesday with State Senator Adriano D. Espaillat in their primary election contest, a rematch that was largely fought along ethnic and generational lines.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting at 11:35 p.m., Mr. Rangel led by about 1,900 votes, or 47.5 percent to 43.5 percent.
Absentee ballots and provisional ballots filled by voters at polling stations could determine the outcome of the race. As of Tuesday night, the New York City Board of Elections said it had given out 2,834 absentee ballots, of which 903 were returned so far, and 738 of those deemed valid. Absentee ballots must be received by the board no later than next Tuesday in order to be counted. No count of provisional ballots was immediately available.
Mr. Rangel, 84, a powerhouse in New York politics for nearly half a century who long exerted Harlem's influence on the national stage, was seeking the chance to retire on his own terms after a career that spanned the civil rights era and the election of a black president. For Mr. Espaillat, 59, a victory would secure him a place in history as the first Dominican-born member of Congress. Early results on Tuesday suggested that Mr. Rangel had made important inroads in precincts that Mr. Espaillat carried by wide margins in 2012, including parts of Washington Heights, the center of the Dominican-American community that Mr. Espaillat has represented for 18 years as a state legislator.
'We don't need a whole lot of numbers to be able to tell you how good we feel, how proud we feel, that we were able to bring together people and cultures from all over the district,' Mr. Rangel said, addressing his supporters at 11:20 p.m.
'What the heck, let's all sweat this one out together,' he added.
Moments later, Mr. Espaillat took the stage at his own primary-night headquarters and sounded a note of defiance.
'We have reviewed the results as they come in, and we feel this race is too close to call,' he said, as supporters chanted his name.
The neck-and-neck result was a reprise of the 2012 contest between the two rivals, which Mr. Espaillat lost by fewer than 1,100 votes and did not concede for two weeks.
This time around, Mr. Rangel promoted his experience as his biggest asset, and argued that Mr. Espaillat, was an empty suit in Albany. In one debate, Mr. Rangel pointedly asked, 'What the heck has he done, besides saying he's a Dominican?'
Though Mr. Rangel was widely denounced, accused of injecting divisive racial politics into the contest, the dart, which he repeated, appeared to hit its mark: from mid-May to mid-June, the closely watched Siena College poll showed a sharp uptick in the number of voters viewing Mr. Espaillat unfavorably, and a small but important widening of Mr. Rangel's lead.
Mr. Espaillat, deployed timeless political tactics in his second attempt, lining up endorsements from local leaders in the Bronx and East Harlem and relentlessly sending sound trucks to blare everything from meringue to a cover of 'I Believe I Can Fly' at voters, from morning to night.
Each man had much to prove.
For Mr. Rangel, the rematch this year was a chance to prove that the slim margin in 2012 had understated his true popularity with voters.
Mr. Rangel, after all, could barely walk at the beginning of that campaign, still debilitated by a serious spinal infection. And his reputation was still in tatters after his censure by the House in 2010 over a number of violations of ethics rules involving his Harlem apartment, unpaid taxes, incomplete financial disclosures and solicitation of donations from those with business before the House Ways and Means Committee. The ethics scandal also cost him his chairmanship of the committee.
This year, his health was no longer an issue. Mr. Rangel jabbed aggressively at Mr. Espaillat at every opportunity, and spoke up for himself in pungent terms.
'Someone said, 'Well, aren't you too old?' ' he said at one point. 'And my answer is that if you had a racehorse that won 43 races, brings in the money, but the horse is old and experienced and knows the track, what would you do? Would you send him to the glue factory? Hell, no!'
But if Mr. Rangel was sometimes breathless after a walk, he campaigned on Mr. Espaillat's turf, reeled in endorsements from such Democratic luminaries as former President Bill Clinton, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Senator Charles E. Schumer, and persuaded colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus to come to the district to mobilize Harlem residents on his behalf.
For Mr. Espaillat, the primary represented not just a test of his own political appeal but of the readiness of Dominican-Americans, a factionalized demographic in New York City, to rally behind one of their own.
A victory would make him the first Dominican-born member of Congress at a time when the city's growing Dominican population is expanding beyond its traditional Manhattan strongholds of Washington Heights and Inwood, and into the Bronx. About 7.6 percent of the city's 8.3 million residents, or nearly 630,000 people, are of Dominican heritage, according to an analysis of census data by Queens College.
Mr. Espaillat hammered away at Mr. Rangel's loss of prestige, casting Mr. Rangel as a virtual freshman who was not only powerless to help the district but also out of touch with it.
And he sought to run to Mr. Rangel's left, casting himself as the true liberal in the race and portraying Mr. Rangel as a supporter of the Obama administration's policy on deportations of immigrants, a position at odds with that of a large numbers of voters in the district. But their differences seemed overblown; Mr. Espaillat's attacks sometimes misfired, and polls suggested he was struggling to connect with voters.
Though the primary battle quickly settled into a rematch between Mr. Rangel and Mr. Espaillat, the congressman also had competition from a popular Harlem pastor, the Rev. Michael A. Walrond Jr., 43, who argued that a new generation of black leadership needed to assert itself rather than wait for the old guard to step aside.
Political analysts speculated that Mr. Walrond, who is black, could siphon votes from Mr. Rangel. But Mr. Rangel's aides argued that Mr. Walrond would instead split the votes of those who wanted a change. A fourth candidate, Yolanda Garcia, a Bronx community activist, made little impact on the race.
The November election is uncontested, making the winner of the Democratic primary, for all practical purposes, the congressman-elect.
Mr. Espaillat went to court in 2012 over accusations of discrepancies in the vote-counting process, so both candidates on Tuesday were on the lookout for problems. The Espaillat camp, concerned that Spanish-speaking voters who favor their candidate could be disenfranchised, reported scattered incidents where translators were unavailable for residents.
Elsewhere, some residents said they were not properly listed in voter rolls, leading them to fill in affidavit ballots. Mr. Rangel's camp, for its part, said it had not heard of any major issues during the day.
At Public School 154 on West 127th Street in Harlem, Michael Cummings, a retired police officer, said he was giving Mr. Rangel one more chance. 'I think this is his last go round,' he said. But Mr. Cummings, who has lived in Harlem for more than 40 years, said he was impressed by Mr. Rangel's challengers. 'If he were to run again, I'd really have to decide, sentimentality pushed aside.'
Other older residents said they wanted someone younger and fresher in Congress. Beryl Anto, 87, said that she believed Mr. Rangel had done a good job, but that 'it is time to go.'
'I am old, and I know what it is like to be old,' said Ms. Anto, a retired teacher, who noted that she was voting for Mr. Espaillat.
After voting at P.S. 175, on West 134th Street, Mr. Rangel said he had promised his wife of more than 50 years, Alma, that this would be his last hurrah. 'It will be the last time I'll be voting for myself,' he said, before kissing her on the cheek.
Ms. Rangel made clear her own expectations.
'He promised me that he's going to take me to Paris right after this was over,' she said. 'And he needs to rest.'
Entities 0 Name: Rangel Count: 25 1 Name: Espaillat Count: 17 2 Name: Harlem Count: 6 3 Name: Congress Count: 3 4 Name: Bronx Count: 3 5 Name: Walrond Count: 2 6 Name: Dominican Count: 2 7 Name: Washington Heights Count: 2 8 Name: Andrew M. Cuomo Count: 1 9 Name: Albany Count: 1 10 Name: Charles B. Rangel Count: 1 11 Name: Paris Count: 1 12 Name: New York City Board of Elections Count: 1 13 Name: East Harlem Count: 1 14 Name: Michael Cummings Count: 1 15 Name: Manhattan Count: 1 16 Name: Inwood Count: 1 17 Name: New York City Count: 1 18 Name: Siena College Count: 1 19 Name: Beryl Anto Count: 1 20 Name: Yolanda Garcia Count: 1 21 Name: Adriano D. Espaillat Count: 1 22 Name: Congressional Black Caucus Count: 1 23 Name: Cummings Count: 1 24 Name: black Count: 1 25 Name: Charles E. Schumer Count: 1 26 Name: Obama Count: 1 27 Name: Alma Count: 1 28 Name: Bill Clinton Count: 1 29 Name: House Ways and Means Committee Count: 1 30 Name: Public School Count: 1 31 Name: House Count: 1 32 Name: Anto Count: 1 33 Name: New York Count: 1 34 Name: Michael A. Walrond Jr. Count: 1 35 Name: Queens College Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1l9ghty Title: Crossroads Upends New York 21st District Primary Description: In New York's sprawling 21st District, a recent influx of more than $1 million from outside groups has catapulted a 29-year-old first-time candidate ahead of the two-time nominee in the Republican primary for this coveted seat.
