The Grace Meng test
Grace Meng. Azi Paybarah.
4:16 pm Jun. 26, 2012
Reuters summed up the race for the newly drawn congressional seat in Queens as a Get Out the Vote fight between three major Democratic candidates with largely similar stances on major issues: Assemblywoman Grace Meng, Assemblyman Rory Lancman, and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley. (A fourth candidate, allergist Robert Mittman, has gained minimal traction.)
The race is in part a test of the city's Asian-American voters, and whether they will turn out in numbers to vote for an Asian-American candidate in a district that has, for the first time, an Asian plurailty.
Today's result will also provide some answer to questions about the strength of the once-mighty Queens Democratic organization under the leadership of Elizabeth Crowley's cousin, Rep. Joe Crowley. The party, and its chair, were embarrassed by the defeat of its chosen candidate last year in a special congressional election for Anthony Weiner's seat.
