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NEW YORK, NY September 13, 2004 — Tuesday is Primary Day in New York. Voters in all parties will select candidates for the November general election. There are two Bronx Senate seats up for grabs. The senate is now controlled by Republicans, but Democrats believe they can chip away at that majority by winning the two seats in November. We have two reports on the Bronx campaigns beginning with this one by WNYC's Beth Fertig.

The seat that represents the Northern Bronx and part of Westchester was formerly held by Republican powerbroker Guy Velella, who resigned earlier this year after pleading guilty in a bribery scandal. Two Assembly Democrats who want the seat are competing in tomorrow's Democratic primary. And the race is largely about one question:

KLEIN: Really what it's about is who the real Democrat is.

That's Bronx Assemblyman Jeff Klein. The veteran lawmaker is supported by most Democratic party leaders and has a huge fundraising advantage over his opponent, Assemblyman Steve Kaufman. But while Kaufman's been a Democrat for 30 years, in this senate race he's running in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. And that's become a rallying point for Klein.

KLEIN: He's using the Democratic party through the Democratic primary to further his own ambition. If he's going to be a Republican say you're a Republican, run in November and let's get on with the race.

But Kaufman says labels aren't important.

KAUFMAN: I want to go to Albany with a mandate and I also believe that it's vital that this district continues to receive the funding that our predecessor brought in. He brought in an enormous amount of funds and it's very important that NYC and Westchester continue to have a voice in the Senate.

Democrats question whether Kaufman would vote with the Republican leadership if he's elected. He says he'll cast his votes based solely on the needs of his district. For example, Kaufman notes that he voted to keep the commuter tax while Klein voted against it.

KAUFMAN: It didn't make a difference whether you were a Republican or a Democrat. Both parties got together and hurt New York City.

Klein has defended his vote to repeal the commuter tax, calling it a nuisance tax.

As the primary race comes to a close, there are accusations of dirty politics. Klein accuses Republicans of funneling money to his opponent by spending thousands of dollars on negative ads, which he compares to the Swift Boat veterans attacking John Kerry. But Kaufman denies any involvement with the group that bought the ads, and accuses Klein of spending money on THIS campaign when he originally raised the money to run for attorney general. The charges are likely to continue for the next two months. Even if Kaufman loses the Democratic primary, he's still likely to win the Republican one. In that case, both candidates would face off again in November. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.