Primary day in New York State has come and gone, but there were a few surprises from what those who are supposed to be in the know expected.

The "mainstream" press prematurely tried to write Congressman Charles B. Rangel's obituary. But the news of his "death" was greatly exaggerated. He trounced his closest opponent two to one and the next closest opponent four to one. It really was not a contest. It was a show from the community of how much support the 20-term veteran congressman really has.

In a crowded field of five, he still handedly won over 50 percent – Rangel still roars – and will charge his way right back into the house for another term, he so rightly deserves. The congressman has brought so much to central Harlem and to New York City as a whole. His impact on inner cities across the country is immeasurable, and our community is well served by his continuing representation of our interests in Washington.

Voters from our communities let it be known that they will turn you out of office if you let us down. Both Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada, two politicians whom we know well and – in the past – had the support of our community, cooked their own goose and have paid the political price. Both were unseated in similar fashion – beaten by more than a two-to-one margin. These are two New York State legislators who we really will not miss – nor will the Democratic Party.

As for the rest of the elections, they went pretty close to what we had predicted. New York voters backed Amsterdam News editorial board pick Eric Schneiderman over Kathleen Rice, whom we thought was a good candidate but lacked enough statewide experience for our tastes. And besides, we were a bit confused by her political advertising, which made us question her real commitment to issues of our community.

As we watched the polls come in last night, it was interesting, as usual, to see which precincts came in first. Upstate and parts of Long Island – where Rice is based – came in early, giving Rice the edge. But as New York City and inner-city communities came in, Schneiderman plowed ahead to victory, as we predicted he would.

In general, we got it right. The Amsterdam News–endorsed Ed Towns beat Kevin Powel 67 percent to 33 percent. Harlem-based State Senator Bill Perkins beat Basil Smikle with more than 75 percent of the vote, setting the stage for Perkins' re-election in November.

And as we go into the final fall stretch, the races that we'll need to continue watching are the statewide and federal races – governor, senator, congress, comptroller and attorney general – the stakes are all big. If we are diligent and continue to press on the issues critical to our community, we will ensure that the candidates most attentive to our concerns will prevail. We have less than two months. We need to make sure our voices are heard and let all the candidates know they can't do this alone – without us there is no them.