Petitions surfaced yesterday suggesting Adriano Espaillat is running for two offices — for re-election to his state Senate seat as well as for the congressional seat occupied by Rep. Charles Rangel (pictured).
The double play is possible because the congressional primary is on June 26 but the state Senate primary won’t take place until September. If Espaillat loses the congressional race, he could run again for Senate.
But Espaillat insisted yesterday that he has not authorized anyone to gather signatures for the Senate race.
“I am running for Congress and expect to be sworn in as the next congressman for the 13th Congressional District. I have asked no one to carry petitions or to be on any committees,” Espaillat said.
“If anyone is collecting signatures for me, I would say to them that the best way to help our community is by supporting our campaign for Congress,” he said.
Meanwhile, Gov. Cuomo would not say whether he will endorse a candidate in the congressional race. Rangel’s camp claims Cuomo will be in his corner — though the governor did not attend the congressman’s birthday fund-raiser last night.
“The governor will not be doing politics or endorsements until after the legislative session,” a gubernatorial source said.