After a lengthy ballot count, which included an unprecedented number of absentee ballot votes, City Councilman Ritchie Torres has emerged victorious among 11 candidates in New York City’s 15th district congressional democratic primary race, winning 32.2 percent of the votes. The win, which was announced on Aug. 4, brings Torres one step closer to becoming the first LGBTQ Afro-Latino member of Congress if he wins the general election in November.

 

Incumbent Congressman, José Serrano (D), who was first elected in 1990, did not seek re-election for the South Bronx seat, and is due to retire in the coming months.

 

Torres, who was profiled in an earlier edition of the Norwood News in May, is expected to win the general election on Nov. 3 in the 15th district which is solidly democratic. The other candidates in the November general election are republican, Orlando Molina, third party conservative candidate, Patrick Delices, and working families party candidate, Kenneth Schaeffer.

 

Torres was one of the primary race favorites, and won 19,090 votes, though he was not leading the polls prior to the election. His closest rival was Assemblyman Michael Blake who won 18.1 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, City Councilman Ruben Díaz Sr., whose policies are considered the polar opposite of those of Torres, particularly when it comes to progressive topics and LGBTQ+ rights in particular, had been leading in the polls prior to the election, but finished with 14.4 percent.

 

Newcomer, Samelys López, who was also profiled earlier this year by Norwood News, just trailed Diaz with 14 percent of the vote, while City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez was the last candidate to attain a double digit vote share with 10.6 percent. López tweeted on Aug. 6 in reference to the race, saying her proudest moments were centering Palestine and being endorsed by the Democratic Socialists. She also placed Torres on guard, saying the Black and Brown community would be watching him.

As a movement, we must reject dangerous narratives that dishonor the plight of occupied nations all over the world.

In #NY15, a majority Black & Brown community, there are more than 8k residents who also agree with our vision for a just world.

We are watching @RitchieTorres.

— Samelys López for NY-15🌹 (Bronx) (@SamelysLopez) August 7, 2020

 

According to Ballotpedia, prior to the election, The American Prospect had written that “a muddled open-seat primary [..] conspired to divvy up the progressive vote share among multiple hopefuls, much to the delight of an unapologetically conservative candidate, Ruben Diaz Sr.” Indeed, had Díaz Sr. won, he would probably have been the most, conservative Democrat in the House.

 

According to Politico, a super PAC backed by LGBT donors was quickly launched to oppose Díaz Sr., while reproductive rights groups like Planned Parenthood’s political arm also opposed his candidacy. This served to prompt 14 candidates, at one point in the race, to run against him which divided support among progressives, including Chivona Newsome, one of the founding members of the Black Lives Matter movement in New York. 

 

According to campaign finance reports covering through June 3, Torres led in fundraising efforts with $1.4 million, followed by Blake with $832,000. In a statement issued by Torres, following his win, he said, “The voters have spoken: the time has come for a new generation of leadership in the South Bronx. The results represent a resounding rejection of the status quo.”

 

Torres went on to say that the South Bronx has long been known as the poorest congressional district in America. “COVID-19 has revealed the South Bronx for what it truly is: the home of the essential workforce – largely women of color who bravely risk their lives on the front lines so that the rest of us can safely shelter in place,” he said. “The ‎opportunity to represent the most essential Congressional District in America is one of the highest honors in public service.”

 

Torres, a self-described young man who lived most of his life in poverty, was raised by a single mom and grew up in public housing. “I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that I would have a fighting chance of becoming a United States Congressman in the only home I have ever known – the Bronx,” he said. “I dedicate this moment to my mother who has struggled and suffered and sacrificed, so that I could have a better life than she did. Nothing in life inspires me more than powerful mothers like mine, and representing them in the South Bronx is the realization of a dream.”

 

As a member of Congress, Torres vowed to fight to build a more perfect union that honors the essential workers and powerful mothers of America. “We need housing vouchers for all so that every American in need is assured of an affordable home. And we need universal health care so that all Americans can lead healthier and happier lives,” he said.

The need for health care is especially urgent in the South Bronx, which saw the highest rate of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. “It is deeply personal for me: as someone who struggles with Major Depressive Disorder. I never would have made it without access to health care,” he said. “The right to health care and housing are as essential as the workers who held our country together in its moment of greatest turmoil.”

 

Torres went on to say that he would work every day to make sure everyone in the South Bronx has a fighting chance at a decent life. “No matter who you are, where you came from, what your citizenship status is, and whatever your gender or sexual orientation is. I will fight for you,” he said. If elected in the general election which takes place on Nov. 3, Torres said he would be proud to be part of a new guard of progressive leaders who are making Congress every bit as diverse as America itself, giving new meaning to the word “representation”.

 

According to Ballotpedia, as of August 2020, Democrats had a 232-198 advantage over Republicans. If Republicans win 18 Democratic-controlled districts, they will win control of the House. If Democrats hold as many districts, they will maintain their control of the chamber.

 

The unprecedented number of mail-in ballots on primary day of 400,000, ten times more than usual for a democratic primary according to The New York Times, was due to the need to socially distance on election day, June 23. The same will be true for the November presidential and general elections, prompting widespread urgency to ensure voters get their mail-in ballots in sufficient time to vote.

 

President Donald Trump had been critical of the widespread use of mail-in voting because he said it creates a higher risk of voter fraud. “We want people to vote, but we want people to vote so when they vote, it means one vote,” Trump said. It was reported that there was even a possibility that he would veto a coronavirus relief bill because it included support for the Postal Service, but he has since walked back that suggestion. The assertion that the mail-in process can lead to voter fraud was fact checked and rejected as invalid by NPR.

 

BillMoyers.com reported on Aug. 8 that Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor to President Donald Trump and the recently appointed Postmaster General of USPS, issued a sweeping overhaul of the agency, including the ousting of top executives from key posts and the reshuffling of more than two dozen other officials and operational managers.

 

The shake-up came as congressional Democrats called for an investigation of DeJoy, and the cost-cutting measures at USPS that have slowed mail delivery and ensnared ballots in recent primary elections.

 

The full tally of votes for all democratic primary candidates in the June 23 race can be viewed on Ballotpedia.