The veteran Democratic congressman might be the winner in New York’s 13th District, but no one really knows.
It’s a bizarre situation that just keeps getting weirder, a strange
case of missing precincts, questionable ballots and utter confusion over
who’s to blame for the mess and when the race might be settled.(PHOTOS: Charlie Rangel's career)
What’s known is this: As of Friday evening, 32 precincts – six percent of all votes cast – had yet to be accounted for. And another 2,447 affidavit ballots and 667 absentee votes hadn’t been counted yet either. According to the city Board of Elections, Rangel’s lead over second-place finisher state Sen. Adriano Espaillat stood at 1,032 votes, with enough outstanding ballots to alter the outcome.
Naturally, the courts are now involved. On Friday, the state Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit brought by the Espaillat campaign, asking it to examine the squirrelly vote-counting process. A hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Before things went off the rails, Tuesday night had been an evening of celebration and vindication for Rangel, who seemed to have survived the most serious reelection threat of his 42-year career in the House. After initial tallies showed the congressional titan jumping to a 20-point lead over Espaillat, Rangel took to the stage at Sylvia’s, the famed soul food institution located on Harlem’s Lenox Avenue, to declare victory and then party late into the evening with boisterous supporters.
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