Rep. Rangel’s primary opponent

News that Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) faces multiple ethics violations before a House ethics committee is likely to bolster Rangel’s Democratic primary challenger.

Rangel has had a lock on New York’s 15th District since the ’70s, but New York State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV is waging a serious primary against him this year. 

Powell is the son of former Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who Rangel defeated to first win the seat in 1970.

Powell IV couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday, and there was no word from his campaign immediately following the news of the ethics charges against Rangel. But the hallmark of his campaign so far has been the ethics cloud surrounding Rangel.

Here’s Powell IV in a TV interview last week laying out his argument for why he thinks voters are finally ready to “turn the page” in Rangel’s district.