Legendary Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel is nearing the end of his political career.
Bronx Democratic Party leaders said Monday they are deserting Rangel, the 83-year-old dean of New York’s delegation in Washington, for Adriano Espaillat in the June 24 Democratic congressional primary.
And city Controller Scott Stringer is also expected to soon endorse Espaillat, several sources told the Daily News. He was celebrating Passover Tuesday and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Stringer will thus join Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito as the second citywide politician to line up against Rangel, the Korean War hero who has held his congressional seat for an astounding 44 years.
It’s rare to have so many major Democratic leaders unite against an incumbent — especially an iconic and likeable guy like Rangel.
Two years ago, Stringer and Mark-Viverito were both in Rangel’s camp. So were Espaillat’s new Bronx supporters, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., state Assemblyman Carl Heastie, chairman of the Bronx County Democrats, and fellow Assemblyman Jose Rivera.
But Rangel’s 2010 censure by the House of Representatives for ethical violations and his refusal to retire gracefully have convinced many that new blood is needed.
Support from the Democratic establishment provided Rangel his narrow margin of less than 1,100 votes against state Sen. Espaillat’s audacious first challenge in 2012.
Back then, few took Espaillat, 59, seriously. After all, the district has been represented for nearly 70 years by African-American leaders — first Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and then Rangel — and central Harlem had always been the heart of its voting strength, even though it encompassed parts of the Upper West Side, East Harlem and Washington Heights.
But the district was redrawn after the 2010 Census to include large swaths of the west Bronx, and it now has a majority Hispanic population.
Espaillat quickly inspired a fervent following among fellow immigrants from the Dominican Republic seeking to elect the first Dominican-American to Congress.
Rangel, however, maintained considerable support among the Puerto Rican and white voters in the district’s outlying areas.
East Harlem’s 68th Assembly District produced a whopping 2,643-vote margin for him over Espaillat, while the Upper West Side’s 69th Assembly District registered an 1,171-vote margin. Even the largely Hispanic areas of the Bronx produced a small Rangel margin of 233 votes.
Now he’s boxed in.
Mark-Viverito, who represents East Harlem, is sure to affect the vote totals in her district. Stringer, who grew up in Washington Heights and represented the Upper West Side in the Legislature, remains popular among white and black voters and his support will boost Espaillat in those neighborhoods. And given the massive switch of Bronx pols away from Rangel, look for the Bronx numbers to shift.
Two other candidates, Rev. Michael Walrond, an ally of Rev. Al Sharpton, and community activist Yolanda Garcia, will draw some votes.
But this will be a classic rematch between two members of the Democratic Party’s liberal wing. Between the old war horse and the younger challenger.
No election, of course, is over until the votes are cast and counted.
But everything tells you the great Charlie Rangel has run one race too many.
