Adriano Espaillat speaking to his supporters the night of his congressional challenge. (Photo: Facebook)

State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who announced his intention to seek reelection after narrowly losing a congressional primary against Rep. Charlie Rangel earlier this year, continues to scoop up endorsements that were unfamiliar to him in his last race as he now faces off against the Rangel-backed candidacy of Assemblyman Guillermo Linares.

The latest endorsement came this morning from the Jim Owles Democratic Club, a relatively influential LGBT backing made even more so by Mr. Espaillat's new district being contorted all the way down to W. 25th Street, a good 45 blocks further south than his Washington Heights-based district stretched in the last electoral cycle.

"Rangel's opponents, including his chief opponent Adriano Espaillat, did not respond to repeated requests to appear before our screening panel," the club's president, Allen Roskoff, scoffed in his endorsement of Mr. Rangel earlier this year. "Anyone who does not want to run with the support of leading LGBT organizations cannot be trusted to be true fighters in the cause to further these basic rights"

In this morning's press release, however, Mr. Roskoff declared, “We are proud to support Senator Adriano Espaillat for re-election because of his strong progressive record, including an unshakable commitment to marriage equality and other important LGBT issues."

Far more notable than the club, however, are influential forces like the labor-backed Working Families Party and the top Manhattan-wide elected official, Borough President Scott Stringer, both of which endorsed Mr. Rangel but are now joining the Espaillat campaign.