Hakeem Jeffries (Photo: Facebook)

Months into his first term, his short time in Washington D.C. has Congressman Hakeem Jeffries convinced the Tea Party is out of control.

"Every day I'm in Washington D.C., I'm focused on two things: battling the Tea Party and standing up for President Obama," Mr. Jeffries, a Democrat, said last night at a Brooklyn fundraiser for his successor, Assemblyman Walter Mosley. "The Tea Party folks, they're off the chain. From my perspective, the right thing to do for the country is to make sure we invest in our economy and we stand up for programs like Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid--and stand up for the most vulnerable people among us."

Mr. Jeffries added that he would take the fight to the whole "crew" of Republican leadership, drawing wild applause from his supporters at the Crown Heights restaurant.

"As opposed to what the other side wants to do, which is to basically balance the budget on the backs of children and seniors, working families and the middle class," he said. "And despite what John Boehner says, despite Paul Ryan, despite that whole crew, we're not going to let it happen."

Since replacing the retired Edolphus Towns, Mr. Jeffries has been appointed to the Budget Committee and Judiciary Committee. Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, one of the GOP's rising stars, chairs the Budget Committee and has aggressively pushed for spending cuts as a way to trigger economic growth.

Mr. Jeffries, needless to say, is no fan of that approach.

Hakeem Jeffries and Walter Mosley campaigning outside P.S. 375 in Crown Heights. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

Last Thursday, Walter Mosley was elected to succeed Hakeem Jeffries in Brooklyn's 57th Assembly District. Mr. Mosley was supported by Mr. Jeffries, who left the seat to run a successful congressional campaign, and the race was largely seen as a referendum on Mr. Jeffries' ability to deliver for another candidate in his Central Brooklyn base. Politicker sat down with Mr. Jeffries yesterday to get his post-game analysis on Mr. Mosley's campaign and the endorsements that didn't go their way. Mr. Jeffries also talked about his plans for moving to Washington, his thoughts on the future of the Brooklyn Democratic Party in the wake of the Vito Lopez scandal and discussed ringing the opening bell at NASDAQ on the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Mr. Jeffries said he was quite happy with the result of Thursday's election, which, according to unofficial results from the Board of Elections, Mr. Mosley won by a margin of about 33 percent over his closest competitor, Ola Alabi.

"We were extremely pleased that Walter Mosley prevailed," said Mr. Jeffries. "He's a great candidate and will continue to provide the people of the 57th Assembly District with the public service that they deserve moving forward. These remain very challenging times. There are a lot of issues that need to be resolved in the State Legislature. I'm confident that Walter Mosley is the right man for the job. I'm very pleased that an overwhelming majority of the public reached that conclusion as well."

Mr. Jeffries' margin of victory in his June congressional race against Councilman Charles Barron was about 42 percent, even bigger than Mr. Mosley's margin last week. We asked whether he thought their respective results indicated a new movement or base coalescing around him in Central Brooklyn.

"I'll leave the term movement to my good friends out in East New York," Mr. Jeffries said referring to Mr. Barron. "Good public service makes for good politics. Over the last six years, I've worked as hard as I can to be the best possible public servant and I'm thankful that it has translated into an ability to generate excitement and support amongst the electorate."

Despite his hesitation to use the word movement, Mr. Jeffries said he believes a "partnership" between himself, Mr. Mosley and Councilwoman Tish James in the area came out of the recent pair of races. Ms. James supported both Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Mosley. Mr. Jeffries said this group will be ideally positioned to address the main challenges facing Central Brooklyn, which he identified as gun violence and the "foreclosure crisis."

"These problems will require intense intervention and relationships that will span city, state and federal offices," said Mr. Jeffries. "One of the wonderful things about this campaign is that the partnership that emerged between Walter, Council member James and myself will translate into our capacity to govern in a way that will improve the quality of life for the people that we serve."

Though Mr. Jeffries is optimistic about new alliances coming from this summer's campaigns, not everyone was on board with him and Mr. Mosley in their races. Notably, DC37, New York's largest municipal public employee union endorsed both Mr. Jeffries' erstwhile opponent, Mr. Barron, and Mr. Mosley's rival, Ms. Alabi. Mr. Jeffries was decidedly not complimentary about the union's picks. He also cited other labor unions who did back him and Mr. Mosley.

"DC37 supported a candidate in June and a candidate in September, those candidates lost by a combined 75 points and I think the results speak for themselves,"  Mr. Jeffries said. "We did receive an extraordinary level of support from labor organizations in June like 1199, 32BJ, CWA and the TWU. In the Assembly race, Walter received tremendous support from the UFT and we are both looking forward to continue our partnership with organized labor moving forward on behalf of working families all across New York City."

Another endorsement that didn't go to Mr. Mosley's was that of The New York Times, which backed Martine Guerrier, who came in a distant third behind Mr. Mosley and Ms. Alabi with just 6.93 percent of the vote in the unofficial results. Mr. Jeffries speculated the Times wanted to support someone unconnected to the political establishment given the recent scandal surrounding the leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

"The New York Times is always a critical endorsement. In this particular race, they decided to support a candidate who was the most disconnected from the existing political infrastructure given all that is happening with the State Legislature and the County organization," said Mr. Jeffries. "I can understand the decision of the Times editorial board to support an outsider. In this particular case, Walter Mosley was the best candidate and, not withstanding some of the endorsements that went against him, we were able to convince a significant majority of the people that he would best represent their interests."

Since Mr. Jeffries alluded to the situation with Mr. Lopez, we asked who he believes will be chosen to replace the former party boss.

"It's still too early to speculate, even though the election for next County Leader will take place next Wednesday. There are so many different factors that come into play, particularly some of the results in this past primary election where at least two and possibly more incumbent District Leaders lost," Mr. Jeffries said. "The landscape is still undefined. Frank Seddio is a strong candidate and Karim Camara has been a tremendous legislator who's got the respect of many important institutions all across the State of New York. We'll see what unfolds over the next few days."

Many observers have counted Mr. Camara out of the race due to eligibility rules that bar those who have not served as District Leaders from running for County Leader. Mr. Jeffries said he believes these regulations should be changed "to provide for the selection of the best possible candidate." With the race for County Leader coming up so soon, it seems like a longshot that the rules would be changed in time for Mr. Camara to take the position, but Mr. Jeffries seems to think he has a chance.

"Anything can happen in politics, particularly in Brooklyn," said Mr. Jeffries of the possibility the regulations could be modified in time for Mr. Camara to run for the office.

As far as his own future, Mr. Jeffries is in the process of making arrangements for himself and his family when he has to travel to Washington to serve in the House of Representatives.

"I'm a Brooklynite, will always be a Brooklynite and look forward to aggressively representing the people in Brooklyn and in Queens in the 8th Congressional District. My family will remain here in Brooklyn and I'm going to spend as much time as I can here in the District," he said.

Because he wants to stay in New York as much as possible, aides to Mr. Jeffries told us he was considering sleeping in his House office rather than setting up a more permanent living situation in Washington. However, Mr. Jeffries told us he quickly abandoned that idea once he learned about the conditions in the House office buildings.

"It was a passing thought, but I quickly disabused myself of that notion when one of the current members of Congress who does sleep in his office warned the rest of us to be concerned about the growing rodent infestation problem," said Mr. Jeffries.

In the meantime, before he heads down to D.C., Mr. Jeffries still has plenty keeping him busy here in New York. This morning he rang the opening bell at NASDAQ. Today is the first anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests and protesters announced plans to disrupt the markets this morning. Mr. Jeffries wasn't worried about protests disrupting today's opening bell.

"I think the Occupy Wall Street movement was a very fruitful movement as it relates to shining a spotlight on income inequality and economic injustice," he said. "The one year anniversary will appropriately mark a movement that did contribute to an important public policy dialogue in America, but I'm otherwise unconcerned that it will be disruptive in a way that would cast the movement in a negative light."

Indeed, though the financial district was filled with protesters, police and arrests this morning, the markets opened without a hitch.

(Photo: Facebook)

A number of other candidates have won tough races tonight. As the results come trickling in, here are some notable ones:

Assemblyman William Boyland Jr., currently facing federal charges that he solicited bribes to pay his legal bills in an unrelated federal corruption case, won against a slew of challengers. Six opponents split the anti-Boyland vote, allowing him to skate by with a weak plurality.

State Senator Shirley Huntley, indicted a couple weeks ago on charges that she helped deliver member items to a sham non-profit, lost to Councilman James Sanders, who waged an aggressive campaign and managed to turn out his base in a seat made less favorable to Ms. Huntley in redistricting.

Despite John Messer's full campaign war chest and some less-than-ideal lines after redistricting, Queens Democrats successfully pulled Senator Toby Ann Stavisky across the finish line for a comfortable victory.

Walter Mosley, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries pick to replace him, won a convincing victory over his fellow district leader, Ola Alabi.

Senator Martin Dilan, proving that Vito Lopez's woes are not his own, also won a dominating victory over his challenger Jason Otaño.

In what may be another victory from beyond Mr. Lopez's political grave, reports suggest District Leader Lincoln Restler is currently in a tough position against Chris Olechowski.

Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs somehow managed to pull off a dominating victory over Rodneyse Bichotte, even as the demographics of the district worked strongly against her. The veteran lawmaker will return to Albany for yet another term.

Also not sweating the demographics of his district, Assemblyman Mike Miller won against Etienne Adorno.

Ron Kim looks to be in a good position for Assemblywoman Grace Meng's old seat. Despite being backed by the county's Democratic organization, Mr. Kim appeared to be a bit of an underdog in the closing days of the campaign, so if true, it'll be an upset.

Mark Gjonaj looks like he'll pull it off against incumbent Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera, who's being investigated as to whether she abused her office.

In Brooklyn Civil Court races, we hear Richard Montelione and Schlomo Mostofsky were victorious.

Less surprising results:

• Eric Ulrich easily defeated Juan Reyes for the right to challenge Democratic Senator Joe Addabbo in November.
• Brad Holyman will replace State Senator Tom Duane in Manhattan.
• The Tischler brothers didn't make much of a mark against State Senate candidate Simcha Felder and Assemblyman Dov Hikind.
• Senator Neil Breslin cleaned up against spirited challenger Shawn Morse.
• Assemblyman Nick Perry defeated attorney Terry Hinds.
• Luis Sepulveda won Assemblyman Peter Rivera's old seat.

Hakeem Jeffries and Walter Mosley campaigning outside P.S. 375 in Crown Heights. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

Hakeem Jeffries isn't officially a congressman yet, but the rising Democratic Party star is already facing the first major test of his political power since he won the Democratic primary for New York's 8th Congressional District June 26. With that victory, Mr. Jeffries virtually guaranteed himself a ticket to Washington to represent the overwhelmingly Democratic Brooklyn district following the general election in November. However, there is still the matter of who will replace Mr. Jeffries in the State Assembly seat he vacated to pursue his congressional campaign. Mr. Jeffries is backing District Leader Walter Mosley to succeed him in the 57th Assembly District, but Mr. Mosley has two tough opponents in that race today and insiders are keeping a close eye on the contest to see whether Mr. Jeffries can deliver his old district to his chosen heir.

"I know all three candidates, but I've worked closely with Walter over the last six years that I've been in the Legislature. We've worked on a wide variety of issues of significance," Mr. Jeffries told Politicker this afternoon. "He's been there as a close ally to help improve the quality of the public schools in the neighborhood, fight to stand up for senior citizens, to reform the NYPD's stop-and-frisk practices, fighting with me to create and preserve affordable housing. On every single issue of significance, Walter Mosley has been there. There are going to be some very important issues to be decided in the State Legislature moving forward and I have the greatest degree of confidence in Walter that he can continue the work that needs to be done on behalf of the people in this wonderful community.

Mr. Jeffries said he expected Mr. Mosley's race to be "close" due to "very low turnout," but he said he was "cautiously optimistic."

"We've brought a considerable number of people into this race who got to know Walter during my congressional campaign, and got to like him and appreciate the skills that he brings to the table as a pub servant," said Mr. Jeffries. "Every race is different and a congressional race is a high profile one that attracts people from all over the community, the borough and the city. This is a different type of race. It's much more localized, but we still have a tremendous organization that we've put out in the community. The UFT and a variety of other labor organizations have come in. They're doing tremendous work on behalf of Walter and I'm confident that, at the end of the day, we'll prevail."

In addition to Mr. Jeffries, Councilwoman Letitia James, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and 2013 mayoral candidate Bill Thompson hit the streets today to campaign for Mr. Mosley. Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Mosley focused most of their efforts on two locations their staffers described as the "battlegrounds" of the district--the polling places at P.S. 270 in Clinton Hill and P.S. 375 in Crown Heights. For much of the day, the two men switched back-and-forth between both schools greeting potential voters and handing out campaign literature.

We talked to Mr. Jeffries outside P.S. 375 at about two this afternoon. Shortly after our arrival, Mr. Mosley showed up to relieve him.

"We're very systematic in terms of where we position ourselves," Mr. Mosley said. "We understand that those two polling sites are bellwether sites for this district even though we anticipate low voter turnout. Even in spite of that, these two sites, 270 and Jackie Robinson are really sites that have always historically exceeded the State and City average."

Mr. Mosley said he was "very optimistic" about his chances. However, his opponents have some impressive backers of their own. Ola Alabi, who is also a District Leader, has earned endorsements from several major unions;  UFCW Local 1500, District Council 37, DC 1707, AFSCME, AFL-CIO and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Ms. Alabi also was endorsed by the New York Daily News and multiple political clubs including; the LAMBDA Independent Democrats, the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City and the 57th Assembly District Democratic Organization. The third candidate in the race, Martine Guerrier, picked up the influential endorsement of the New York Times.

For her part, Ms. Alabi seems unconcerned about Mr. Jeffries helping her rival.

"Where was that? Where was the large organization?" she asked when we asked her if she was confident of her ability to defeat Mr. Mosley given the support he received from Mr. Jeffries.

When we explained to Ms. Alabi that we were referring to the many elected officials and volunteers who were working with Mr. Mosley and Mr. Jeffries, she remained unconcerned.

"I don't know that that's organization. I know that that's electeds, but I don't know that that's organization. I saw Scott Stringer out here, I mean, they all spent a few minutes. I don't know that's a large organization," Ms. Alabi said. "I do know that we did the work beforehand, we knocked on a lot of doors and I do know that, ultimately, I think the hard work does matter in these types of races."

Ms. Guerrier told us she admires the organization put together by Mr. Mosley and Mr. Jeffries but also sees the strength of the area's political establishment as evidence of the need for a change.

"I respect the Assemblyman and I'm glad that he made it to Congress. That opens up an opportunity for the rest of us to … offer new leadership for the community," said Ms. Guerrier. "As for Mr. Mosley's operation, it's admirable. It's amazing to see what having county support and institutional support can do for someone and it's one of the things that I'd like to see balanced out by some campaign finance reform, you know, finding mechanisms for community people and folks that aren't connected in that deep way to make headway."

Ms. Guerrier also told us she thinks she has a "one in three chance" of winning.

Outside P.S. 375 this afternoon, we didn't see many voters headed to the polls, but we did see people handing out flyers for both Mr. Mosley and Mr. Alabi. Yves Sainnoval was wearing a green "Alabi" t-shirt and giving out the campaign's literature, but he said he had been paid to distribute the materials didn't know much about the candidate.

"I'm working for them," Mr. Sainnoval said. "Really, I don't know that much about it."

About a half-a-block away, a woman named Kim Wallace was distributing flyers for Mr. Mosley. She said she became aware of him after originally volunteering for Mr. Jeffries' congressional campaign. We asked her how many other supporters of Mr. Jeffries were volunteering for Mr. Mosley today.

"Quite a few. I can't even count, that's how many," said Ms. Wallace. "The same people I see from when I was doing Jeffries, I see the same people doing Mosley."

Polls close tonight at 9 p.m.

(Updated with comment from Ms. Guerrier 8:13 p.m.) 

Hakeem Jeffries (Photo: Facebook)

Assemblyman and soon-to-be Congressman Hakeem Jeffries endorsed in a number of candidates the primaries happening on Thursday, including pols supported by the county organization, like Senator Martin Dilan and those opposed to it, such as District Leader Lincoln Restler. However, if there's any race Mr. Jeffries really cares about, it's surely the one to replace him in the State Assembly, where Mr. Jeffries will get a raw test if the political organization that propelled him to a congressional primary win earlier this year can be sustained and work for others.

In that race, Mr. Jeffries formally backed District Leader Walter Mosley, who hails from the same political club as himself, to take his old seat. However, Mr. Mosley has stiff competition in the form of his fellow district leader, Ola Alabi, as well as education advocate Martine Guerrier, in the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill assembly district.

To help boost Mr. Mosley, Mr. Jeffries recorded a robocall urging his current constituents turn out on Mr. Mosley's behalf.

"Hi this is your assemblyman, Hakeem Jeffries, urging you to vote for my good friend and colleague Walter Mosley for the New York State Assembly," Mr. Jeffries says in the call. "During my time in the Legislature, Walter has been a strong partner as we worked together on issues like improving the quality of public education, creating and preserving affordable housing, protecting our seniors and reforming the out-of-control NYPD stop-and-frisk practices."

He adds, "I look forward to representing you in the Congress and it's important that I have a partner like Walter Mosley fighting for us in Albany."

Click below to listen:

Hakeem robocall

A map of New York City's State Senate districts.

It's Election Day in New York next Thursday! But instead of a titanic battle between ideologies--your Mitt Romneys vs. Barack Obamas, if you will--the options on the ballot will be little-noticed state legislative contests between candidates of the same party, often with few policy differences.

However, that doesn't mean that there aren't some exciting races happening. From "Who Gets Arrested for Raping a Grandmother?" to “Assemblywoman Caught Up in Sex Scandal with Two Young Men,” there's been no shortage of nasty drama and mud slinging as voters head to the polls.

Here's a breakdown of who's running and why it might matter who wins. The list below focuses on Democratic races because the few Republican primaries in this staunchly blue city tend to have clear favorites or are taking place in such Democratic territory that the victor is reasonably likely to be irrelevant.

So, without further ado...

Category #1: The End of the Rainbow

Four Republicans crossed the aisle to help pass gay marriage in New York last year, and three of them are running for re-election this year, Senators Mark Grisanti, Steve Saland and Roy McDonald, are all facing primary challengers that have come out on the opposite side of the marriage issue.

Advocates on both sides of the debate have invested heavily in these races, and regardless of the outcome, the results are sure to help set a national narrative about what happens to Republicans who support gay marriage. Can otherwise conservative lawmakers survive the backlash, or will their unorthodoxies topple their political careers? As state legislatures across this country consider passing gay marriage themselves, these three races could impact the discussion.

And with campaign literature like this, these races won't be short on fireworks.

Category #2: Indictment Excitement

There are a number of elected officials running for re-election with various criminal allegations hanging over their heads. If the more ethically challenged ones win and are eventually convicted of abusing their offices, the results of these races might send a depressing message about the state of the electorate. (They have all maintained their innocence.)

State Senator Shirley Huntley, who was arrested a couple weeks ago on charges that she used member items to line the pockets of her friends and family, is facing a very strong primary challenge from Councilman James Sanders. Even before Ms. Huntley's legal troubles, Mr. Sanders was mounting a credible primary challenge, as his base in Far Rockaway was drawn into her southeastern Queens district in this year's redistricting process. Mr. Sanders has also picked up support from a number of unions and the influential Rev. Floyd Flake, making this race seem like it's his to lose at this point.

Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. currently stands accused of one of the more hilarious acts of alleged official impropriety in recent memory -- taking bribes to pay for his legal bills he ran up in a separate bribery case. It's not clear if Mr. Boyland intends to fight the federal charges again or accept a plea deal, but the indictment--with wiretap evidence--seems pretty damning. Damning enough that he'd have a much harder re-election bid ahead of him if it weren't for the fact that he's facing eight (!) challengers who will split the anti-Boyland vote. With such a large field, it's difficult to get a clear read on this Brownsville and Ocean Hill-based district, but activist Tony Herbert and campaign operative Anthony Jones seems to be running some of the stronger non-Boyland campaigns.

Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera is being investigated by a small army of agencies on whether she may have illegally provided jobs to her boyfriends and used a nonprofit's funds for personal and political purposes. She faces a field of three opponents, but businessman Mark Gjonaj is running the most serious campaign of the bunch, with over $200,000 in his war chest and substantial investments in advertising and field operations. Ms. Rivera won't go down without a fight, however, and the Bronx Democratic establishment is pulling out all the stops to ensure she pulls out a victory. Will she be able to survive the barrage of bad headlines that have dogged her for the last few weeks and make it through Election Day?

Category #3: Rage Against the Machine

While Ms. Rivera's race features a classic establishment vs. insurgent dynamic, it's hardly the only one. Candidates across every borough except Staten Island are running against the folks who are currently in charge. Nowhere is this dynamic more pronounced than Brooklyn, where scandal-scarred Kings County Democratic boss Vito Lopez is still ostensibly in control and has yet to formally relinquish power. If anti-County candidates succeed, it will weaken the organizations' ability to convince mayoral contenders and other candidates they are still top dogs in this city.

District Leader Lincoln Restler is considered a rising star in Democratic politics, but before he can continue rising, he's going to have to win a tough reelection battle. Mr. Restler, a prominent critic of Mr. Lopez, would be cruising to reelection but for the fact his opponent, Chris Olechowski, is destined to receive the majority of the ballots in vote-heavy Hasidic Williamsburg. It seems like all the winds are blowing in Mr. Restler's favor, but given the bloc of votes against him, this will be a race that plenty of political observers will be following Thursday night.

Senator Martin Dilan may or may not be vulnerable, but given his close alliance with Mr. Lopez and the fact that his senate district overlaps with Mr. Lopez's assembly seat, his reelection race will serve as a test for the machine in Brooklyn's new political world. While Mr. Dilan would appear to have the edge, attorney Jason Otaño is mounting a vigorous campaign. If Mr. Otaño can make a strong showing, he could be a strong candidate in the future, at the very least.

Open Seat to replace outgoing Assemblywoman Grace Meng: A crowded field of candidates is vying to replace Ms. Meng--who left the her diverse seat based in Asian-majority Flushing to pursue a congressional campaign. The County's Democratic Party has backed Ron Kim, a former government aide and political operative, but his electoral prospects are far from clear. Ms. Meng has stayed out of the race and a number of other hopefuls, notably former City Council candidate Yen Chou, are in Mr. Kim's way. The other entrants in this unpredictable race are; Ethel Chen, Myungsuk Lee and Martha Flores-Vasquez.

Open seat to replace outgoing Assemblyman Rory Lancman: Mr. Lancman lost to Ms. Meng in her congressional race's Democratic primary and isn't pursuing reelection. His seat, like Ms. Meng's, is an Asian-majority district in northeastern Queens, but the field couldn't be more different as it features just two non-Asian candidates: community board chairman Jerry Iannece and former assembly chief of staff Nily Rozic. Queens Democrats are pushing hard for Mr. Iannece, and he would seem to be favored as a result. However, Ms. Rozic has picked up a number of notable endorsements, including The New York Times and various unions, creating a genuine horse race between the two.

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, who's also running for reelection in a Queens district that has been reconfigured to be Asian-majority, shouldn't really be that vulnerable without any major blunders in office and a reliably Democratic voting record. However, she only won 45 percent of the vote  in 2010 against two challengers. With a district that now includes new areas, she's facing a rematch against one of her 2010 foes, John Messer. Mr. Messer, a businessman and attorney, has his placed his personal wealth in the campaign too, to the tune of $500,000. Ms. Stavisky, with close ties to her senate colleagues and Queens County, has been doing plenty of her own fundraising and running an aggressive campaign, however.

Open seat to replace outgoing Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries: Mr. Jeffries is on his way to become Brooklyn's next congressman and he's leaving a vacant Fort Greene and Clinton Hill-based district behind him. Three contenders are hoping to replace him; Walter Mosley, Ola Alabi and Martine Guerrier. Mr. Mosley has the support of Mr. Jeffries, who has a strong base in the district, but Ms. Alabi has been racking up endorsements and doesn't appear to be someone who can be easily counted out. Ms. Guerrier recently earned the endorsement of The Times and could potentially make an electoral mark of her own come Election Day.

Open seat: Pretty much everyone and their mother has endorsed community board chairman Brad Hoylman to replace retiring Senator Tom Duane in his Midtown-based district, but businessman Tommy Greco is hoping he can make a dent with the help of the storied McManus Club. It wold be a pretty surprising upset for Mr. Greco to pull off a victory, however.
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Category #4: Demographic Pressures

Like it or not, voting patterns often correspond with with ethnicity and political candidates often seek to take advantage of this fact. Some incumbents hold on year after year in districts that don't exactly look like them, while others have seen their districts change beneath their feet since they were first elected. Sometimes it all comes down to the political talents of the incumbents, while in other cases, there just might not be a path to victory anymore.

Assemblyman Steve Cymbrowitz is facing a challenge from Ben Akselrod in a race that could demonstrate electoral power of southeastern Brooklyn's Russian-speaking community. Mr. Akselrod, who started off with a strong campaign, stumbled a bit lately when he release a campaign mailer that referred to crime going up in the "negrohood," a mistake that generated local and national coverage. Whoever wins will be one of the more vulnerable Democratic candidates in the city, as the district's Russian and Orthodox Jews communities are increasingly trending conservative at the ballot box.

In a race that will test demographic realities to their very limit, veteran Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs is hoping she can be successfully reelected again in a district that is only 15% white. She is facing a serious challenge from District Leader Rodneyse Bichotte, who is of Caribbean descent. Ms. Jacobs, a high-ranking member of the State Assembly, is hoping for high turnout in the district's observant Jewish community.

Assemblyman Mike Miller is running for reelection in a district that contains Woodhaven and is plurality Latino. He faces off against Etienne David Adorno, who seems to be mounting a spirited campaign. If Mr. Miller's fundraising were just a tad stronger, this might not be a race to watch, but his campaign war chest is fairly weak for an incumbent.
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Category #5: Odds & Ends

There are some races to keep your thumb on that might not fit into an overarching narrative, but could still be well-worth watching for various reasons. More details below.

State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who narrowly lost a campaign against veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel earlier this year, is now running for reelection and facing a Rangel-backed challenger in Guillermo Linares. Mr. Linares, who's been endorsed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and The New York Times, hasn't been holding his own in fundraising, but Mr. Espaillat has been spending lots of money and would appear to have the edge in this Washington Heights and West Side-based district. Mr. Espaillat is a leading contender for Mr. Rangel's seat in 2014, but his political career could be nipped in the bud if Mr. Linares is able to pull off an upset.

Open seat: With Mr. Linares' challenge to Mr. Espaillat, there's a new vacant Assembly district on the northern tip of Manhattan, and several contenders, including Mr. Linares' daughter Mayra Linares, are hoping to replace him. The other candidates include Assembly aide Gabriela Rosa and former candidate Ruben Vargas. Ms. Rosa, who is backed by Mr. Espaillat, and Ms. Linares, who is obviously being supported by her father, would appear to be the frontrunners. How much Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Linares can impact this race is unknown, however, as both may be focused on their own rivalry.

Councilman Charles Barron has made headlines in recent years with provocative campaigns for governor and congress, both of which he lost badly. However, Mr. Barron is not ready to exit stage right just yet. Insiders believe Mr, Barron and his wife, Assemblywoman Inez Barron, may intend to switch offices  and keep their respective seats in the family when he is term-limited in 2013. First, Ms. Barron will have to succeed in her own re-election bid against Chris Banks.

Moshe and Avraham Tischler, brothers who are 20 and 21 years old respectively, are challenging incumbent Assemblyman Dov Hikind and frontrunner State Senate candidate Simcha Felder for two overlapping Brooklyn seats. While neither is especially likely to win, should they post strong showings, it could be taken as a sign of weakness for the two establishment pols they're opposing, as well as the Orthodox Jewish political establishment at-large. Mr. Hikind doesn't have a GOP opponent but Mr. Felder is running against incumbent Republican Senator David Storobin, and he'll need Democrats on his side in the general election.

Assemblywoman Barbara Clark's ethical issues aren't quite enough to land her in the "Indictment Excitement" category, but attorney Clyde Vanel is running an active campaign and is hoping that voter dissatisfaction could lead to an upset in her eastern Queens district.
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Veteran Assemblyman Nick Perry shouldn't necessarily be vulnerable, but his opponent, attorney and community board chairman Terry Hinds, has a relatively strong profile.
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Well, there you have it. For those who really want to get into the weeds, there are also a number of competitive court races across the city. Otherwise, this list should be more than enough to keep you busy on Election Day. Politicker, of course, will be up late into the night following the results.

(Photo: Facebook)

As race to replace Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries enters its last stretch, some of the last political forces are finally weighing in. The latest is the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which has sided with District Leader Ola Alabi over fellow District Leader Walter Mosley.

“Olanike has stood up with working people on issues such as the fight for living wages, responsible development, keeping Walmart out of New York City until they change the way they operate, our campaigns for dignity for car wash workers and a fair contract for our members at Bloomingdale's," the union's president, Stuart Appelbaum, said in a statement. "We are confident that Olanike's values are our values. We have seen it in the way she has served effectively as a State Committeewoman/District Leader; and we expect the same when she becomes a State Assemblywoman."

RWDSU's endorsement is one of multiple labor endorsements Ms. Alabi, a former member of 1199, has secured in recent days, a list of which includes UFCW, District Council 37 and District Council 1707.

For his part, Mr. Mosley has received the lion's share of officials representing the area, including Borough President Marty Markowitz, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Councilwoman Tish James and Mr. Jeffries himself.

These rival sets of endorsements have made the race one of the top ones to watch on September 13th. Many see the electoral battle between Ms. Alabi and Mr. Mosley as a test to see if Mr. Jeffries, who dominated when he ran in a congressional primary earlier this year, will be able to reignite that same support, and if some of the city's more notable unions are enough to blunt Mr. Jeffries' political operation.

Also in the race is Department of Education official Martine Guerrier, but she has been waging a fairly quiet campaign. For example, she was did not participate in the Inside City Hall debate last Friday.

Walter Mosley gestures towards his supporters during his speech.

In the sweltering heat earlier today, District Leader Walter Mosley formally kicked off his campaign for the State Assembly seat currently held by Hakeem Jeffries. Mr. Jeffries, of course, is set to cruise into Washington D.C. after his dominating congressional primary win in the heavily Democratic area, leaving a vacant seat behind him.

"It's a referendum of the amount of support the assemblyman has built up during his time in the assembly, ... what he's been able to do both statewide and locally," Mr. Mosley said of Mr. Jeffries' victory last month. "I think it can only help me going forward given our relationship, given our working relationship, our personal relationship, and our ability to have worked together in  the four and a half years that we've both been elected officials."

Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Mosley both belong to the same Democratic club, so most expect and endorsement from Mr. Jeffries to come landing down at some point in the campaign, although it hasn't been formally rolled out yet. Mr. Jeffries obviously won his own assembly district by a strong margin in his own race and his backing can only help as Mr. Mosley seeks to beat primary rivals Ola Alabi and Martine Guerrier.

Ms. Alabi's last race, running for reelection as Mr. Mosley's fellow district leader, turned into a fairly charged affair despite the fairly low profile of the unpaid position, but Mr. Mosley declined to weigh in.

"I really can't be concerned about all of my opponents," he said, ticking off things like housing that he is, in fact, concerned about.

And on the most charged and controversial issue in the district, the construction of Atlantic Yards, Mr. Mosley took a middle-of-the-road position of acknowledging his support but demanding more action on the chief complaints of the project's opponents.

"I supported the Atlantic Yards arena at the beginning, but obviously promises have been broken, with regards to affordable housing going forward, with regards to the full-time jobs that were going to be there," he said in response to a reporter's inquiry on the matter. "We're going to hold them to the task. "

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By registering a campaign, Ms. Guerrier is able to raise and spend essential campaign funds as part of her quest for public office.

Ms. Guerrier, whom The New York Times labeled a "Haitian-American soccer mom," is an educational policy expert who, prior to becoming "Chief Mom," previously worked as the communications director and  legislative representative for a public school advocacy group in Albany.

She joins two other candidates in seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat: District Leaders Walter Mosley and Ola Alabi, both of whom have also filed registered committees and are actively campaigning.

(Photo: Kathryn Kirk)

Walter Mosley (Photo: Facebook)

District Leader Walter Mosley has formally filed for the race to replace Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, setting up one of the more contentious Democratic primaries this cycle against his fellow District Leader Ola Alabi, who has already announced her campaign. Mr. Jeffries is in a contentious race of his own as he seeks to unseat veteran Congressman Ed Towns.

Mr. Mosley, who's also a former Senate aide, was long thought to be interested in the seat. His newly registered committee will allow him to raise funds and place the tangible wheels in motion for an actual campaign.

A Brooklyn Democratic insider told The Politicker Mr. Jeffries is thought to be supportive of Mr. Mosley's efforts while Ms. Alabi is seen as more closely aligned with Mr. Towns.