No official tally for Rangel v. Espaillat

UPDATED Thursday, June 28, 2:20 p.m.

Rep. Charles Rangel’s declared victory over state Sen. Adriano Espaillat Tuesday night, but the results are still not official.

As of Thursday at 2 p.m., 94 percent of precincts had reported and Mr. Rangel’s lead had shrunk to 2.6 percent, or 1,032 votes.

Two hours after polls closed on Tuesday, Mr. Rangel declared victory when it was announced he had 50.1 percent of the vote, compared to Mr. Espaillat’s 33.4 percent, with 70 percent of precincts reporting.

But as precinct reports trickled in late Tuesday and on Wednesday morning, that double-digit lead dwindled.

Supporters of Mr. Espaillat, including Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, planned to host a press conference about the race at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Details of the press conference are unclear.

Even though Mr. Espaillat congratulated Mr. Rangel on Tuesday night, he later released a statement that left the door open.

“I am incredibly proud of our campaign. Our message of bringing bold, new ideas to change Congress connected with voters, as demonstrated by our strong show of support and the voting results that continue to come in,” it read.

It was not clear which precincts had still not reported results or what was the cause of the delay. The Board of Elections did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

A spokesman for Mr. Espaillat's campaign said it was premature to discuss a recount.

Four Manhattanites challenged the longtime incumbent in the Democratic primary for District 13: Joyce Johnson, a community organizer, Craig Schley, a former fireman, model and aide to Mr. Rangel,  and Clyde Williams, a former staffer of Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and Mr. Espaillat, who currently represents Riverdale in the state Senate.

Voters in Congressional District 16 elected Rep. Eliot Engel in a landslide over challenger Aniello Grimaldi, a former Bronx district attorney from Pelham Bay. The result was widely expected. Mr. Engel received 90.1 percent of the vote with 90 percent of precincts reporting. 

Mr. Rangel’s new district includes Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Norwood, Van Cortlandt Village, Bedford Park and University Heights. 

Mr. Engel’s new district includes Bronx neighborhoods of Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil, a slice of Kingsbridge (on Irwin Avenue or the west side of Tibbett Avenue), as well as Co-op City, Woodlawn, Wakefield, Baychester and Edenwald. 

Mr. Rangel is the third longest serving member of the House of the Representatives and is the dean of New York’s congressional delegation. He served the United States in the Korean War and has been one of the most prominent African-American elected officials in the country since first taking office in 1971.

For years, Mr. Rangel represented a district entirely in Manhattan, but following the release of 2010 Census data, northwest Bronx neighborhoods were drawn into the district for the first time. The district has a Latino-majority and includes a large Dominican population, which is one of the reasons Mr. Espaillat, a Dominican American, decided to challenge Mr. Rangel for his seat.

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