Saying it’s time to “heal the community” and “move on” after a hard-fought congressional primary, Al Sharpton said Wednesday that Adriano Espaillat should concede the Harlem congressional race to Rep. Charles Rangel sooner rather than later.
“The voters have spoken,” Sharpton said on MSNBC radio. “People have the right to examine every vote, but I think we’ve got to move on now and heal the community. We do not need black against brown against white.”
The unofficial tally shows Rangel ahead with 22,674 votes or 47.4 percent to 20,846 or 43.6 percent for Espaillat.
Sharpton remained neutral during the primary, which some saw as a slap at Rangel.
Another candidate in the race, Harlem preacher Michael Walrond, a Sharpton ally, received 8 percent of the vote.
Sharpton’s public pronouncement shows pressure is mounting for Espaillat to gracefully concede and avoid a drawn-out recount.
In his first primary challenge to Rangel two years ago, Espaillat didn’t throw in the towel for a month. The Board of Election under-counted his initially tally and there were charges that Spanish-speaking voters were disenfranchised.
There’ve been fewer complaints this time around.