Rep. Charles Rangel is picking up a key endorsement from popular Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, The Post has learned.
“I’m loyal to Charlie Rangel. He’s done a good job — and seniority counts in Congress,” said Brewer, whose former Upper West Side Council districts overlaps with the congressman’s.
Brewer described the 83-year-old incumbent as one of the hardest working politicians shes’s ever met.
“Charlie is the first one up in the morning and the last one to go to bed. And he’s very smart,” Brewer told The Post.
“He’s a decent human being and he’s never forgotten where he came from.”
Brewer’s backing is good news for the embattled 22-term incumbent, who has suffered a wave of defections in his rematch against state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who nearly toppled him two years ago.
The Democratic primary will take place June 24.
The congressional district’s demographics changed following reapportionment two years ago, and takes in sections of The Bronx as well as Greater Harlem, Washington Heights/Inwood and parts of the Upper West Side.
The district — once dominated by black voters — has become more Latino.
Prominent Latino elected officials — Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viveritto and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz — recently endorsed the Dominican-born Espaillat after backing Rangel two years ago.
And speculation is rampant that city Comptroller Scott Stringer, a Washington Heights native whose political base is on the Upper West Side, may also abandon Rangel.
But Brewer said it would be foolish to count out the battle-tested Rangel, who is particularly popular with older residents who disproportionally vote in Democratic primaries.
Many political insiders believe Rangel should have retired after his electorial scare two years ago, on the heels of a congressional censure for ethics violations.
But Brewer said, “I’m glad Charlie is running again.”