Espaillat, Not Conceding, Facing Uphill Fight to Count Absentee Ballots
After the polls closed last night in Hamilton Heights, State Senator Adriano Espaillat gave a defiant speech saying he would not concede to longtime Congressman Charles Rangel until all the ballots were counted. The New York Times reported: "With 100 percent of precincts reporting after 1 a.m., Mr. Rangel led by just over 1,800 votes, or 47.4 percent to 43.6 percent." But there are 2,834 absentee ballots outstanding, which still must be counted. Unlikely as a reversal would be, those ballots could still swing the race for Espaillat. TWU Local 100's Political Action Committee helped shave Rangel's victory margin. The smart money had Rangel up by ten points in late polling, but his final percentage spread over Espaillat was less than half that.
The Union's PAC team phonebanked our members heavily and distributed over 20,000 pieces of literature. We estimated that phone calls alone added 300 votes to Espaillat's total, which only counts direct conversations with members. Messages left and literature distributed likely brought in hundreds more. TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen and Secretary-Treasurer Earl Phillips campaigned with Espaillat, and Brother Philllips was present at the 809 Restaurant on Dyckman Street in Hamilton Heights where supporters gathered to await the outcome of the vote. Local 100 pushed Mr. Espaillat's record in defending mass transit against cuts and supporting union jobs as our main argument for why he should succeed Rangel in Congress.