Rangel Defeats Powell in Harlem Grudge Match

Sept. 14, 2010— -- Embattled veteran Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel turned aside a primary challenge Tuesday from state Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV in a closely watched grudge match between two legendary names in New York and Harlem politics.

Rangel led Powell 51 percent to 24 percent with 97 percent of the precincts reporting, easily surviving what had been billed as the toughest re-election battle of his 40-year-career in Congress. Four other candidates divided the rest of the vote.

"This isn't a win for Charlie Rangel. This is our community's win. It is all of you who spoke," Rangel told supporters at a Harlem restaurant.

He joked about having to face a primary.

"This is new to me, so if I am awkward, you know…" he said.

The throw-the-bums-out mood endangering incumbents across the nation did not prove costly to Rangel, even though a House panel recently charged the lawmaker with violating ethics rules.

Rangel is now nearly certain to win a 21st term in November, because of the Democrats' huge registration edge in Harlem -- once the capital of Black America.

But his victory Tuesday could further complicate the Democrats' chances of maintaining control of the House, by adding to the heavy baggage the party is carrying into the midterm elections.

It was a race echoing in irony and history:

In 1970, Rangel won election to the House by defeating Powell's father, legendary Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, in the Democratic primary. The elder Powell was an icon in Harlem -- a fiery preacher and a brash politician who had become a national voice for civil rights. He too was dogged by scandal.

Forty years later, Powell's son borrowed heavily from Rangel's 1970 playbook, arguing that Rangel had grown out of touch with his district and become an embarrassment to Democrats.