Charles Rangel Race Still Up in the Air

Charles Rangel's primary re-election isn't quite so decided after all. In a weird twist, the longtime Democratic congressman is facing days or even weeks of uncertainty after officials said 32 precincts had not counted their votes and more than 3,000 affidavit and absentee ballots hadn't been counted either, Politico reports. That means state Sen. Adriano Espaillat could still overcome his 1,032-vote deficit and topple one of Washington's most storied lawmakers.

Among the developments:

• A New York City Board of Elections rep is blaming NYPD officers for the delay, saying they were supposed to provide unofficial precinct results after securing ballot boxes.
• Espaillat supporters are accusing Rangel's powerful backers of swaying the vote count.
• Espaillat forces say Hispanic voters were turned away at the polls; liberal activists are planning to march at the Federal Election Commission in Washington, DC, to call for an investigation.
• Next door to one ballot-counting room, Espaillat and Rangel supporters are glaring at each other and breaking out into arguments.
• Rangel says it's all news to him: “I’m not hearing anything because I’ve been on the floor, I’ve been at legislative meetings, I’ve been at caucuses."

Click for the full article. (More Charles Rangel stories.)