Charlie Rangel preparing to cast a ballot for himself in Harlem. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

Charlie Rangel went to vote at P.S. 175 in Harlem this morning and, in a brief press conference afterward, the longtime congressman was dismissive of his opponents, the media and the entire possibility he might lose. Today's race is seen as potentially the toughest of the congressman's over forty years in office thanks to the changing demographics of his district. However, Mr. Rangel first replied with a joke when a reporter asked what he'd do if he loses.

"Well, if I lose tonight, I will sleep just like a baby and cry myself to sleep," he said with a smile.

After a few laughs, the Congressman followed up to say he doesn't think about losing at all.

"No, no," said Mr. Rangel. "If you have the spirit that's necessary to overcome these political obstacles and if you're fortunate enough to know that they're not obstacles that you can't overcome, than the whole attitude, 'What do I do if I lose?' never reaches that mental level. It really doesn't. I would find some way to tell you if I thought it did."

Prior to taking questions from the large crowd of assembled reporters, Congressman Rangel spoke for several minutes in an attempt to, in his words, "get rid of some of the nonsense questions" that have surrounded this race right off the bat.

"Let me try to get rid of some of the nonsense questions and that is, am I too old to run for reelection. Clearly, I've gone through the process, I've done what candidates are supposed to do," he said.

Several of Mr. Rangel's opponents have suggested his Upper Manhattan district is in need of new leadership after his over forty year tenure. The congressman has also been dogged by persistent reports of health problems. Between February and April he was hospitalized multiple times with what he described as spinal virus. Mr. Rangel attempted to shoot down any health concerns. He also implied his main rival, Adriano Espaillat, waited until he was in the hospital before deciding to run.

"I don't think anybody that's runnning or not running is going to challenge my health, albeit one candidate made certain that I had a health problem before he announced," Mr. Rangel said, adding, "Certainly, if health was a factor, he made one big political mistake."

Mr. Rangel said he was motivated to run to extend his lengthy tenure in the House of Representatives by the current climate in Washington. Though President Barack Obama has refrained from endorsing Mr. Rangel and even once implied he thought the congressman should retire, Mr. Rangel said his admiration for the president was one of his reasons for wanting to win re-election.

"The one reason why I think it's important that I be allowed to extend the service to my country, and the Congress and my district is because of the times that we find ourselves in the Congress. Never before have we faced such a fiscal crisis," said Mr. Rangel. "On the other side of this coin, I have never been so inspired by any politician and certainly no president as I have about President Obama."

In addition to Mr. Espaillat, former Democratic National Committee political director Clyde Williams, businesswoman Joyce Johnson and Craig Schley, an ex-model, are on the ballot against Mr. Rangel. The congressman said none of his opponents have shown they'd be a better choice for voters.

"I've been so fortunate in this campaign that none of them, not one of them, has ever indicated they can do the job better," Mr. Rangel said.

Both the New York Times and the Daily News gave their endorsements to Mr. Williams. Mr. Rangel criticized their decision, citing the large margin of victory he enjoyed in his last re-election campaign and his support from other elected officials.

"I know that some newspapers are committed to making decisions that are not always based on the facts, but that's their choice," Mr. Rangel said.

After nearly fifteen minutes of talking, Mr. Rangel's aides began to pry him away from the crowd of supporters and supporters that assembled outside the school to watch him vote. As he was walking back to his car, The Politicker asked about his accusation that Mr. Espaillat is hedging his bets in their congressional race by simultaneously circulating petitions in order to run re-election to the State Senate if he loses.

Congressman Rangel brandished an alleged copy of a petition he said Mr. Espaillat was circulating during their NY1 debate earlier this month. Yesterday, in a conversation with The Politicker, Mr. Espaillat vigorously denied he's still pursuing his senate seat and claimed the petition showed by Mr. Rangel looked "fake." However, the congressman repeated the charge on Good Day New York this morning saying Mr. Espaillat is "filing that he wants to run again for the State Senate" and "should at least be mature enough" to only go after one job.

In his press conference, Mr. Rangel reversed his stance and said he takes Mr. Espaillat's word that he's not running for multiple offices.

"I believe Esplinard when he says he's not running for anything except the Congress. I believe him," Mr. Rangel said, mispronouncing his opponents name. "I want this reporter and anyone else listening to know that when Senator Esplinard says on television with me that the only office that he's running for or interested in is the House of Representatives and that he has no interest in the seat that he vacated, which is the [State] Senate, that I am one person that believes him."

The scene from yesterday's candidate forum.

"Is the empty seat for the other person who's running?" an audience member asked the moderator before the candidates running against Congressman Charlie Rangel introduced themselves in Washington Heights last evening.

"Since you asked it now, I'm happy to tell you now," the moderator responded. "Hudson Heights has called Congressman Rangel's office repeatedly and we were told a few days ago, and again today, that the congressman would be unable to be here."

Mr. Rangel himself contested this explanation, insisting that he had never been invited, but regardless, the four challengers to Mr. Rangel in this year's Democratic primary discussed federal policy issues without the sitting incumbent they are hoping to unseat.

And, as they were all progressive Democrats, there were very few disagreements that emerged. One of the candidates, Clyde Williams, critiqued State Senator Adriano Espaillat's explanation for rising gas prices, insisting that larger geopolitical concerns were at fault in addition to regulatory issues. Mr. Williams also disputed Mr. Espaillat's argument that the Northern Manhattan Empowerment Zone lacked significant resources to spend in the community.

Another candidate, Craig Schley, had even harsher criticism for Mr. Espaillat, accusing him of voting against rent regulations. Mr. Espaillat contended that he actually voted the complete opposite and his spokesman pointed us to an article about the candidate's strident efforts supporting rent regulations.

The only audience member to engage the candidates in a critical fashion questioned a fourth candidate, Joyce Johnson, over her stated opposition to overregulating the financial industry. The individual accused Ms. Johnson of engaging in "meaningless platitudes" on the issue, to which Ms. Johnson clarified she definitely still supported additional regulations over the status quo.

The most notable disagreement of the night, oddly enough, might have been an intentionally lighthearted question about whether pennies and nickles should be eliminated. Mr. Williams immediately supported the concept while Ms. Johnson and Mr. Espaillat opposed it.

Mr. Schley had the most creative solution to the problem, asking, "Why don't we just make a two-headed coin, right?"

Watch these moments, in addition to the candidates' closing statements below:

It's an open field against Charlie Rangel. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

In addition to the notable Michael Grimm news at the Board of Elections today, several other challengers saw their fates decided.

Although three of veteran Congressman Charlie Rangel's challengers, Clyde Williams, Craig Schley, and Joyce Johnson, initially saw objections filed against their signatures, only one, Mr. Schley, had the required specifications filed against his signatures alleging exactly where the validity problems existed.

Even though Mr. Schley's campaign was a bit disorganized in its efforts to defend his signatures (it seemed he had an unauthorized person representing him), Mr. Rangel's campaign didn't show up to press their case, allowing Mr. Schley to cruise onto the ballot. However, Mr. Schley did lose in his largely non-existent efforts to get onto the Independence Party line.

Although we left before the race for an open Queens Congressional seat was evaluated, elections guru Jerry Skurnik, also at the Board of Elections today, tweeted the news that Juan Sheng was successfully knocked off, but the curious Robert Mittman (who has not returned our repeated phone calls), remains on the ballot. Another candidate, Stephen Green, who had initially replaced Jeff Gottlieb, previously declined to be on the ballot.

Conventional wisdom would suggest this outcome is vaguely favorable to one of the more serious congressional candidates, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, as Ms. Sheng may have pulled some Asian-American votes that Ms. Meng would otherwise have received, and vice versa with the Jewish vote for Mr. Mittman and one of Ms. Meng's main rivals, Assemblyman Rory Lancman. A spokesman for Mr. Lancman indicated his campaign would appeal the decision.

On the other hand, City & State reports that Ms. Meng was booted from the Independence Party line, which could matter if the Republican candidate, Dan Halloran, can make this a close election despite the district's Democraticlean.

In addition to Mr. Lancman and Ms. Meng, a third serious Democratic candidate, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, is also competing for the June 26th Democratic nomination.

Clyde Williams

Former DNC political director Clyde Williams faced two challenges to the 6,000 petition signatures he obtained to get on the ballot in the congressional race for Upper Manhattan's 13th district that he blamed on "associates" of the incumbent, Charlie Rangel. Those objections have expired and Mr. Williams said he's going to be on the ballot without issue.

"Thousands of residents who signed my petitions participated in the electoral process and now their voices will be heard. I will be on the ballot on June 26," Mr. Williams told The Politicker. "We now enter a new phase of the race and I look forward to continuing to engage voters and share ideas for the future of this community."

Last week, Mr. Williams posted a note on Facebook decrying the challenges to his petitions filed by Desiree Harris and Jerry Washington as "associates of Charlie Rangel" attempting "to block my access to the ballot." Ms. Harris and Mr. Washington also filed challenges to petitions obtained by two of the other candidates in the race, Craig Schley and Joyce Johnson.

"Some might say a petition challenge is the sincerest form of flattery. But in fact what my opponents are challenging is the right of the people to be heard – trying to silence the voices of change," Mr. Williams wrote.

Ms. Harris lives in the same apartment building as Mr. Rangel, whose campaign declined to comment on the issue last week.

Petition objections require a contact person and both Mr. Washington and Mr. Harris listed a man named Arthur Greig on their challenges. Mr. Greig was the Co-Law Chair of the New York County Democratic Party while Mr. Rangel's longtime ally, Assemblyman Herman "Denny" Farrell was chairman. He also worked a special counsel to the chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee in the late 1998. Mr. Farrell has been chair of that committee since 1994. Mr. Greig also served as counsel to another ally of Mr. Rangel's, David Paterson while Mr. Paterson was minority leader in the State Senate.

Adriano Espaillat and Charlie Rangel. (Photo: Facebook)

On Monday, the five Democrats vying to represent the 13th District submitted petitions to get on the ballot. Today, objectors filed challenges to some of those petitions and former DNC head Clyde Williams accused the incumbent, Charlie Rangel, of "trying to  silence the voices of change."

"Last night, I learned that associates of Charlie Rangel intend to try to block my access to the ballot," Mr. Williams wrote on his Facebook page. "Some might say a petition challenge is the sincerest form of flattery. But in fact what my opponents are challenging is the right of the people to be heard - trying to silence the voices of change. I will fight this challenge because I - like so many District residents - share a the desire to change our fortunes and seize our future for the better."

Approximately 900 petitions were required to get on the ballot. All five candidates in the race exceeded that amount. According to State Senator Adriano Espaillat's campaign, he is leading the pack with about 10,000 signatures. Mr. Rangel's campaign said he obtained about 8,900 signatures in the Upper Manhattan portion of the district although they claimed not to know how many signatures they obtained in the Bronx. Mr. Williams' campaign said he got "roughly 6,105" signatures. Businesswoman Joyce Johnson acquired just under 4,000 signatures according to her campaign. Craig Schley, a former intern of Mr. Rangel's, said he collected approximately 3,000 signatures.

Mr. Rangel has spent more than four decades in Congress and has the support of the Harlem political machine he helped build so, in some ways, his second place finish is surprising. However, the congressman was out of commission for much of the last two months with what he described as a virus in his spine and he was unable to actively campaign.

Today, two people, Desiree Harris and Jerry Washington, filed objections to challenge signatures obtained by Mr. Williams, Ms. Johnson and Mr. Schley. Neither Ms. Harris nor Mr. Washington are directly affiliated with any of the campaigns, but Ms. Harris lives in the same apartment building as Mr. Rangel, which may have prompted Mr. Williams' accusation the challenges came from Mr. Rangel. Mr. Rangel's spokesman, Bob Liff, declined to comment on this story.

Ruben Dario Vargas (Photo: New York City Campaign Finance Board)

Mr. Espaillat is vying to be the first member of Congress of Dominican descent. Without Mr. Vargas, he is the only Latino candidate running in the 13th district, which contains a largely Dominican Latino majority. Mr. Vargas said he chose to drop out because he believes it is more important for the Dominican community to unite and "make history.

"This election is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our community," Mr. Vargas said. "With the stakes so high, I think it's important for the community to unite behind a candidate who can make help us make history, and that candidate is Senator Espaillat. While I've worked hard to get myself in a position to run, I'm ready to give all of my support to the candidate who can succeed in bringing fresh leadership to Congress this year."

Mr. Vargas' departure from the race leaves five candidates standing; Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Rangel, former DNC head Clyde Williams, businesswoman Joyce Johnson and former model Craig Schley.

Adriano Espaillat (Photo: New York State Senate)

Adriano Espaillat has raised $62,055 so far in his beat to unseat veteran Congressman Charles Rangel according to his campaign committee's first quarterly report. While Mr. Espaillat's haul is hardly massive, the report only includes a few weeks of fundraising since he officially launched his campaign at the beginning of the month. Mr. Rangel also raised a similar amount for the quarter, $67,273, however he spent much of that time in and out of the hospital with what he and his staff have described as a back injury.

Though Mr. Espaillat was able to nearly match Mr. Rangel's fundraising total for the quarter, the congressman should be able to perform far better in the fundraising race now that he's out of the hospital and back on the campaign trail. As an incumbent, Mr. Rangel already had a substantial war chest and his latest contributions leave him with $226,306 on hand. Mr. Espaillat spent about $5,762 on the campaign so far and has just $56,292 on hand.

Mr. Espaillat is thought to be a particularly strong opponent for Mr. Rangel since he's vying to be the first congressman  of Dominican descent in a district with a majority Latino population, but he's not the only challenger running for the seat. Former DNC head Clyde Williams, who is also running in the district, raked in just under $120,000 this quarter and has over $200,000 on hand. There are no reports from a new committee from businesswoman Joyce Johnson, but the report for her committee from her last run for the seat in 2010 shows it raised no money this quarter and has $1048.53 on hand along with $16,236 in debts. Former model Craig Schley and community activist Ruben Dario Vargas are also in the race for Mr. Rangel's district, but there quarterly reports have yet to be made public.

Adriano Espaillat speaking to the Barack Obama Democratic Club. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

The Barack Obama Democratic Club endorsed Adriano Espaillat in his bid for the Congressional seat currently occupied by Charlie Rangel at a candidates forum at the Church of the Intercession on W. 155th Street that featured (almost) all five people running in the race. Mr. Rangel, who has been in and out of the hospital after suffering a back injury last month, was represented by Councilwoman Inez Dickens. The club also endorsed its founder, Mark Levine, for the State Senate seat being vacated by Mr. Espaillat and longtime Assemblyman Herman "Denny" Farrell in his re-election bid.

Mr. Rangel has represented the area of Upper Manhattan, which was placed into the 13th district as part of the recent redistricting process, for over four decades. He is seen as increasingly vulnerable in this campaign due to the growing Latino majority in his district and his 2010 censure by the House for multiple ethics violations and has attracted four challengers in this race; Mr. Espaillat, former Democratic National, onetime Democratic District Leader Joyce Johnson and Craig Schley, a local activist and former model who previously ran for the seat as an independent.

In his speech to the crowd, Mr. Williams, who has served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama, emphasized his experience working in Washington.

"I'm the only person who is running as a challenger to Charlie Rangel who has worked for two presidents," Mr. Williams said.

Mr. Espaillat emphasized his roots in the neighborhood and said, if elected, he wants to focus on three main issues; housing, jobs and immigration.

"I'm an immigrant, I came here with no papers. Imagine that? What a country, I came here with no papers and now I'm a state senator and I'm running for Congress," Mr. Espaillat said. "Great story and a real American story."

Mr. Schley, who's campaign slogan is "Evolve," emphasized the need for new represenatation after Mr. Rangel's more than forty years of representation by Mr. Rangel.

"We've only had one representation since man walked on the moon and we have to change that," he said.

Ms. Dickens addressed sought to dismiss worries about Mr. Rangel's health. The congressman has not been seen publicly in his district or on the House floor since February 9.

"I just wanted to align anyone's fears that he is seeking re-election and he indeed is going to come out, probably after Easter," Ms. Dickens said. "I spoke with him maybe two hours ago and he will be out next week to campaign. A lot of the leaders, a lot of the electeds have heard from him directly, because he's been making phone calls while he was incapacitated with the back."

Mr. Rangel has received the endorsement of other local clubs including the Arturo Schomburg Democratic Club, the Broadway Democrats, El Nuevo El Caribe Democratic Club of East Harlem and the Three Parks Independent Democrats. Mr. Espaillat also does not have the backing of several leaders in the area including Councilman Robert Jackson, State Senator Jose Serrano, District Leader Maria Luna and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Mr. Levine is following his club's lead and backing Mr. Espaillat as is Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and Assemblyman Nelson Castro.

With Mr. Espaillat running for Congress, Mr. Levine, the Barack Obama Club's founder and District Leader, is seeking to replace him. At the forum last night, Assemblyman Guillermo Linares announced he's also "seriously considering" that seat. Mr. Levine, who invited his challenger to speak at the forum, unsurprisingly won his club's endorsement 38 votes to two with three blank ballots.