Two veteran New York Congressional reps are facing stiff Democratic primary rematches in June from upstarts who gave them a run for their money two years ago.
Adam Bunkedekko, 32, nearly upset Rep. Yvette Clarke in central Brooklyn’s ninth congressional district in 2018 and is raring to go again — while Rep. Carolyn Maloney will have to fend off another fight from 36-year-old hotel magnate Suraj Patel.
The battle between Bunkedekko and Clarke was a close race that was overshadowed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning primary upset of ex-Congressman and Queens Democratic Party chairman Joe Crowley.
But campaign finance records show Bunkedekko is back for round 2 in the central Brooklyn district, which includes Park Slope, Crown Heights, Flatbush and Sheepshead Bay.
He raised $100,706 during the last three months of 2019 and has $187,866 in cash on hand, according to his campaign report filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
Among the influx are a $500 donation from actress Susan Sarandon, and $2,800 apiece from former schools chancellor Joel Klein and his wife, powerhouse lawyer Nicole Seligman.
Clarke, 55, has not yet filed her year-end report. She only had $25,318 in cash on hand on Sept. 30.
Bunkedekko captured 47 percent of the vote two years ago, nearly toppling the incumbent first elected in 2006, who is the daughter of former Brooklyn Councilwoman Una Clarke.
There are several other candidates who are also running, including Councilman Chaim Deutsch, who threw his hat in the ring last month.
Meanwhile in the 12th congressional district, that takes in the East Side of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, Maloney, 73 — who now chairs the powerful House Oversight Committee — will once again face off with Patel.
Two years ago, Patel broke 40 percent against the entrenched Maloney, first elected in 1992, and carried the Brooklyn and Queens portions of the district populated with younger voters in Greenpoint and Astoria/Long Island City.
But he couldn’t crack much into Maloney’s strong political based on Manhattan’s East Side.
Patel outraised Maloney last quarter — $363,040 to $241,787 — and has $345,266 in cash on hand, slightly more than Maloney’s $324,349.
Patel ran an unconventional campaign in 2018, attempting to woo millennials by having his campaign distribute condoms and marketing on hook-up apps.
Maloney is at the height of her powers and is close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But she also has had health scares.
Veteran political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said AOC’s upset victory over Crowley in 2018 shows “that anything can happen.”
“Crowley’s loss is a warning to all incumbents. They’d better hold onto their hats,” said Sheinkopf, emphasizing that demographic shifts in population and gentrification can upend even longtime incumbents.
AOC defeated Crowley even though she was vastly outspent.