2014 & 2016 NY-13th CD Dem Primaries

The 2014 Congressional Dem Primary in NY's 13th Congressional District, a rematch of the 2012 Primary saw Longtime Harlem Representative Charlie Rangel challenged by Dominican born State Senator Adriano Espaillat for a seat seen as the center of African American Political power

Rangel was here still bitter from the 2012 fight, where he had faced off against Espaillat amist him contracting a spinal infection as well as a censure from the house ethics comittee for, among other things, not reporting his taxes properly and improper solicitation of donations.

Here, he determined that after this fight he would retire, and attempt to attain a successor who was notably not his two-time opponent, Espaillat, whom Rangel had attacked as acomplishing little in the state senate besides "Saying he's Dominican"

Espaillat originally ran in 2012 as this seat, upon redistricting adding the Bronx, was turned into a hispanic majority seat—seeking to use the new Hispanic majority to become the first Dominican born representative in congress.

In both of these runs, he did best against Rangel in Washington heights and worst in Harlem—however lost because he failed to do well in the still predominantly Puerto Rican Spanish Harlem (El Barrio)

This would change in 2016, as he would then defeat Rangel's chosen successor to secure a seat in congress.

2016 in turn was a sea change, as Rangel defeated the former Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee, Keith L.T. Wright in the third of these racially tinged African American vs Dominican congressional elections

Here, Wright's loss was blamed on the appearance of another African American candidate Clyde Williams, who after being confronted by the accusations remarked that he was “not responsible for Keith Wright losing, Keith Wright is”

In winning, Espaillat tried to strike a consiliatory tone to heal the racial divisions that had pervaded in his last three runs—praising Representative Rangel and Wright by name.

He also highlighted racial similarities between both the African American and Dominican communities by mentioning that “Maybe [African American's] ancestors picked cotton. Mine cut sugar cane.”

Irregardless of this, African American Leaders such as Rangel and former NYC Mayor David Dinkins were shocked at the sea change and the fact that Harlem African Americans had lost a seat that they had held for over seven decades.