New districts, another Senate run in NY primary

Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. — Democrats and Republicans around the state will compete in a federal primary that will determine the November slate of congressional races in an electoral landscape changed by the once-a-decade redrawing of district lines.

As its population growth lagged other states, New York lost two House seats following reapportionment after the 2010 census: The old 9th District and the former 22nd District.

The 9th is currently held by Republican Bob Turner, who won a special election in the heavily Democratic district last year after the resignation of Anthony Weiner amid a sexting scandal. Turner is now running for U.S. Senate and faces a primary against lawyer Wendy Long and Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos.

Democrat Maurice Hinchey retired out of the 22nd district and it was absorbed by surrounding districts.

Turnout in the Congressional primaries on Tuesday is expected to be low. It’s been years since New York has had a June primary and in April, just seven percent of Republicans turned out for the presidential primary.

Among the highlights:

— Rep. Charles Rangel is trying to get through a tough Democratic primary in a newly drawn Bronx-Manhattan district. He faces State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who would be the first Dominican-American in Congress if he wins the primary and the November general election. Rangel last week got the endorsement of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

— City Council member Charles Barron and state Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries face each other in Brooklyn’s 8th Congressional District vacated when Democrat Edolphus Towns retired.

— Grace Meng, Rory Lancman and Elizabeth Crowley are vying to replace retiring Democrat Gary Ackerman in Queens. If Meng wins and does it again in November in the heavily Democratic district, she’d be the first Asian representative from New York.

— In an upstate race, Republican former Erie County Executive Chris Collins and Iraq War veteran David Bellavia are competing in the district linking the outskirts of Buffalo and Rochester.

— In the Southern Tier 23rd district,

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