NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 26: Congressman Charles Rangel speaks after declaring himself the winner in the race for the Democratic primary challenge in New York’s 15th congressional district on June 26, 2012 in New York City. After a more than four-decades-long congressional career, Rangel fought for the Democratic nomination in a newly re-drawn congressional district that is no longer dominated by African Americans. The 82-year-old Rangel was locked in a race Tuesday for the nomination in his Harlem-area district with New York state Sen. Adriano Espaillat. Espaillat, a 57-year-old Dominican-American, showed growing popularity in a district that now has more Latino-Americans than African-Americans. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Photo: Spencer Platt/2012 Getty Images
Representative Charlie Rangel is heading into a rematch of the 2012 race that nearly cost him his 22nd term in office, so he needs all the help he can get. But as the June 24 primary draws closer, Rangel is wondering why he can’t even get a meeting with Mayor de Blasio and President Obama to ask for their endorsement. He suspects de Blasio, who ran his 1994 campaign, might be miffed because he backed Bill Thompson for mayor. Rangel also endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2008, but Obama assured him he isn’t holding a grudge, so that can’t be it. Maybe Rangel should think a little harder about that time he was censured by the House for ethics violations, which Obama called “very troubling.”
