Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley is taking sides in New York’s 10th district Democratic primary, endorsing former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman in her bid to return to Congress.
“Senator Bill Bradley is supporting me in this race,” Holtzman said in a Tweet on Thursday. “I am very proud to have the support of such a highly respected and effective U.S. Senator.”
Bradley, who has lived in Manhattan since 2008, represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 1979 until his retirement in 1997.
Holtzman was elected to Congress in 1972, defeating House Judiciary Chairman Emmanuel Cellar in the Democratic primary. She served four terms before leaving to run for the U.S Senate and is seeking a return 50 years after her first election.
After a court-appointed master redrew New York’s congressional districts, Rep. Jerry Nadler was placed into the next-door 12th district in a primary with another long-term Democratic incumbent, Carolyn Maloney. That left an open seat for a dozen candidates, including Rep. Mondaire Jones, who is trying to find a home after being redistricted out of NY-17.
When Bradley first ran for Senate in 1978, Holtzman was not initially in his corner. She had signed up to raise money for one her House colleagues, Rep. Andrew Maguire (D-Ridgewood), who was actively seeking support to take on the four-term Republican incumbent, Clifford Case.
The Maguire event, held at the Central Park South apartment of Carol Weil Haussamen just one block away from where Bradley lives now and Holtzman had been on the host committee, along with Reps. Andrew Young (D-Georgia), Ronald Dellums (D-California), Parren Mitchell (D-Maryland), Herman Badillo (D-New York) and others.
Two years later, Bradley campaigned for Holtzman in her bid for a U.S. Senate seat. He had worked a crowd outside the 21 Club on West 52nd Street a few weeks before Election Day, just before he attended a 40th birthday party New York Knicks teammate Dave DeBusschere.
Holtzman, who turned 81 on Thursday, just narrowly lost that race to Alphonse D’Amato, who had defeated incumbent Jacob Javits in the Republican primary.
The primary election is on August 23.
Read More: Bill Bradley endorsed Elizabeth Holtzman in N.Y. primary