A June election in New York City is rare – and a Democratic Congressional primary at this time of year is even more unusual. The fact that few voters had Election Day on the top of their to-do list on June 26 made the get out the vote effort of 1199SEIU members and volunteers all the more critical to key wins in New York that will play a part in taking back the United States House of Representatives from right-wing extremists in November.

In Brooklyn’s newly drawn 7th Congressional District, 1199-backed Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, a supporter of labor unions and progressive issues for decades, beat her opponent by a better than two-to-one margin. Challenger Eric Dilan was supported by the more conservatively dominated Brooklyn Democratic Party organization, which was no match for the Congresswoman’s deep understanding of her constituent’s issues and a large voter education and turnout operation.

In Central and Eastern Brooklyn, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries won an important race against NYC Councilman Charles Barron, by a margin of more than three-to-one. In the Canarsie section of the borough, where 1199 members concentrated most of their effort, the margin was even wider; many election districts had six-to-one margins. Jeffries, also a long-time champion of progressive issues, won everywhere in this newly configured 8th Congressional district, currently represented by retiring 30-year incumbent Democrat Edolphus Towns.

In the new 13th Congressional District, where the boundaries covering Harlem were redrawn as part of the redistricting process, with some of Manhattan being taken out and parts of the Bronx added in, it appears as of this writing that 1199’s endorsed candidate, Rep. Charles Rangel of Harlem has eked out a close victory over NYS Senator Adriano Espaillat, the remaining candidate in a five-way race. Votes currently counted in the Bronx precincts indicate that 1199SEIU’s hard work in the new portion of the district clearly had a major impact on the race. Although the count will go on for at least another week, the numbers appear to be in the Congressman’s favor.

In Queens, Assemblyman Rory Lancman, endorsed by 1199 and many other New York labor unions was defeated by Assemblywoman Grace Meng. Meng benefited from low turnout outside her base and a relatively large turnout among her home constituency in Flushing. 1199 had an excellent and efficient operation in Forest Hills with many volunteers working long hours knocking on doors in Central Queens

“We won’t let a right wing agenda prevail in Congress,” said 1199SEIU Political Director Kevin Finnegan. “We will continue to work hard to ensure that we move forward and elect candidates who support quality health care, good jobs and economic and social justice.”