State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who represents upper Manhattan and a slice of Riverdale, is spending a lot of time in the Bronx these days. He believes it may be the key to toppling one of the nation’s most prominent congressmen, Charlie Rangel, in a primary that is now less than a month away.

Following a disputed and contentious redistricting process this past winter, the northwest Bronx now makes up 26 percent of the newly constituted 13th Congressional District (19 percent of the registered voters) and Rangel, a House legend, but frail and embattled at 81, is now running for his life.

With an ethics scandal in his wake and his health in doubt — Rangel missed several months of legislative sessions while recuperating from back surgery — candidates have lined up in hopes of taking down the incumbent.

Aside from Espaillat, two other prominent names have thrown their hats into the ring — Clyde Williams, a former aide to Presidents Clinton and Obama, and Joyce Johnson, a Democratic district leader in Harlem.

But many believe it will come down to a two-horse race between Rangel and Espaillat.

“Honestly, it’s a two candidate race,” said Bronx Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz, who represents a chunk of the new congressional district, but has yet to pick sides.

Unlike Dinowitz, several Bronx politicians have decided to back either Espaillat or Rangel.

Backing Rangel is Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who endorsed the incumbent during Bronx Week at a big showing in front of borough hall, and Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano. Both played up Rangel’s seniority in the House and status as a legislative icon.

In Espaillat’s corner are two up-and-coming Bronx lawmakers — State Senator Gustavo Rivera and Assemblyman Nelson Castro — along with two ex-borough presidents, Freddy Ferrer and Adolfo Carrion.

Espaillat, aiming to become the first Dominican born federal legislator, is also receiving support from Councilman Oliver Koppell, who represents Kingsbridge, Norwood and Bedford Park, which are all in the new congressional district. Meanwhile, Councilman Fernando Cabrera, who represents Kingsbirdge Heights, University Heights and Morris Heights — the southern portion of the Bronx part of the district — is still on the fence.

“The Bronx can play a very interesting role in this race,” said Lucia Gomez, who works for a nonprofit political organization called La Fuente, which advocates for voter turnout and fair redistricting.

Gomez said the Bronx areas are open territory. Espaillat’s base is in Dominican-dominated Washington Heights, while Rangel enjoys support among African-American voters in Harlem. (Williams and Johnson, both Africa-American, are based in Harlem as well. They might play a “spoiler” role, she said.)

Though Espaillat’s current senate district is partly in the Bronx, it’s in Riverdale, and doesn’t overlap with any of the new congressional district.

Patrick Jenkins, a political consultant and part-time spokesman for the Bronx Democratic County Committee, which is simply supporting all incumbents and petitioned for Rangel in the Bronx, says that portion of the borough has seen a few very active political battles in the last few years.

When Rivera took on incumbent Pedro Espada two years ago, there was flurry of political activity, enough to get a traditionally stagnant voting block to the polls in record numbers.

But it still remains to be seen how many Bronx voters will come out to a primary that is on June 26, more than three months before residents are used to voting. The special date is the result of a court decision designed to give overseas voters, mostly military personnel, a chance to weigh in.

While the endorsements will some impact, Gomez said the race will come down to which supporters work hardest for their candidate.

“What helps Espaillat slightly,” she said, “is that Gustavo is helping him there.”

Rivera, who proved a tireless worker during his race against Espada when he went from no name to dragon slayer in the course of a few months, said he is spending as much of his time campaigning for Espaillat as his “schedule allows.”

In addition to the help from Rivera, Espaillat has also made himself a much bigger physical presence. Ibrahim Khan, Espaillat’s campaign manager, says his candidate is spending almost every day in the Bronx. You can often his “campaign mobile,” a heavy, old pick-up truck ringed by American flags, riding through Kingsbridge or Bedford Park blasting funk music. He’s often at subway stations, handing out fliers in the early morning.

Meanwhile, Rangel has only made it up to the northern borough on a few occasions: to kick off Bronx Week with Diaz, to receive Diaz’s endorsement and for trip down Mosholu Parkway in the Bronx Day parade.

“Espaillat’s run a fairly aggressive campaign in the Bronx,” Dinowitz said. “He’s been much more visible than Rangel.”

Still, even Rivera admits that Rangel is an icon and will be tough to defeat.

Jenkins said that many of Rangel’s supporters in Manhattan have migrated over to the Bronx in recent years.

“Charlie Rengel isn’t just one district,” he said. “He’s dean of the New York State delegation and well respected throughout the city and the nation.”

Both candidates would make good representatives, Dinowitz says, “Either way it’s going to be fun.”

Editor’s note: The 13th Congressional District primary is Tuesday, June 26. A version of this story appears in the May 31-June 13 print edition of the Norwood News.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.