100 Percent Primary Picks August 23, 2022
By Robert Press
There is going to be a low turnout as was seen in the number of votes cast in the nine days of Early Voting in the Bronx. Two polling sites of the eleven open received almost half of the votes. Of the 4558 Early votes over one thousand were cast at the In Tech school in Kingsbridge where there were there races. Congress in the 13th Congressional District, State Senate in the 31st Senate District, and State Senate in the 33rd Senate District. Almost one thousand votes were cast at the Parkchester Dress Barn location on Metropolitan Avenue. The other nine Bronx Early Voting sites received an average of three hundred votes during the nine days of Early Voting.
The three most interesting races were not in the Bronx. One Congressional race in Westchester/Rockland county 17th CD Sean Patrick Mahoney is expected to beat former State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. The second congressional race 10th CD in Manhattan/Brooklyn where Dan Goldman is the favorite and expected to beat a crowded field of opponents. The third Congressional race 12th CD is Midtown Manhattan where longtime Congressional members Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney are pitted against each there with a third candidate Suraj Patel who came close to Maloney two years ago. Too close to call.
The Bronx has three congressional races, two Democrat and one Republican, where the Bronx is a part of all three districts. In the 13th District current Congressman Adriano Espaillat should win big. In the 16th District Congressman Jamaal Bowman is expected to defeat his three opponents. There is a Republican primary in the 14th Congressional District between candidates Tina Forte and Desi Joseph Cuellar to see who will run (and lose) in the general election against Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The Bronx has three State Senate races. The 31st State Senate race of Manhattan includes a small part of Riverdale, Kingsbridge, and Van Cortlandt Village where incumbent Robert Jackson is facing three challengers, but candidate Angel Vasquez has the support of Congressman Adriano Espaillat and several other high profile elected officials. Too close to call. Second is the 33rd State Senate District between Incumbent Gustavo Rivera and first time candidate Miguelina Camilo. Senator Rivera is working this race as if it was his first race meeting the people and staying around to get to know them, unlike his opponent Ms. Camilo who just gets the photo ops and then leaves. While Senator Rivera has covered the majority of the district both candidates seem to think that the Riverdale portion of the district is the key to victory. This race may be too close to call even though we think Senator Rivera can pull it out despite his opponent having the once powerful Ben Franklin Democratic Club and the Bronx Democratic Party behind her.
The third is the 34th State Senate District, a district now made up of Parkchester and Castle Hill from the 87th Assembly District, Throggs Neck, Pelham Bay, and City Island from the 82nd Assembly District, only Indian Village from the 80th Assembly District, and up into part of New Rochelle through Pelham. Despite having only a very small portion of her assembly district Nathalia Fernandez is favored to win this race because she has outspent both her opponents by at least ten to one or more. There are two other candidates, Christian Amato, and the only Law and Order candidate, former eighteen year army veteran John Perez. Several members of the Bronx Democratic Party and Mr. Amato himself have said that when the original lines came out that Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez was so mad that she did not get the Bronx Democratic Party endorsement that she was supporting candidate Amato over candidate Camilo. Then when the district lines were struck down and new lines were put in Fernandez decided to run in the new 34th State Senate District against candidate Amato who decided to run also in the new 34th district. Candidate John Perez was the only candidate to successfully file petitions for the new 34th State Senate District. Candidate Amato had filed for the new 36th district, and was allowed to use them for the new 34th district. Candidate Fernandez did not file any petitions at all, and was a substitute candidate for candidate Lisa Hofflich who dropped out of the 36th race. Fernandez should win here but ‘Anything may happen next in politics’.
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