After Hand Count, Rangel Holds Lead Over Espaillat in Primary Representative Charles B. Rangel maintained a nearly 1,000-vote lead on Saturday after election officials finished a hand count of the ballots in the June Democratic primary, giving him an edge in his bid for a 22nd term in the House. After the New York City Board of Elections finished counting several thousand provisional and absentee ballots on Friday, it turned to ballots that had been declared invalid but, after challenges from the candidates, were reinstated. In the end, Mr. Rangel, with 18,940 votes, had a lead of 990 over his main rival, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who had 17,950 votes. The two men have been battling to represent the reconfigured 13th Congressional District, which includes parts of northern Manhattan and the Bronx. Long a seat of black political power, the district now has a mostly Hispanic population. Since the district is heavily Democratic, the winner of the primary is considered the front-runner in the general election. It has been a bitterly disputed contest, with Mr. Espaillat charging that Spanish-speaking voters were harassed at the polls - a charge election officials have vigorously denied. Mr. Espaillat has also mounted a legal challenge. A State Supreme Court justice, at Mr. Espaillat's request, has ordered the board not to certify the results without the judge's permission, so it remains possible that a court could intervene. Mr. Rangel's campaign has been reluctant to declare victory even with the lead, with aides saying they did not want to be premature. Neither campaign could be reached for comment on Saturday afternoon after the final vote tally was released by the Board of Elections. Mr. Rangel, the dean of the New York delegation, has been a fixture in the Washington political firmament since he was first elected to Congress in 1971. Over the years he has held political sway through his positions on important committees, most recently serving as the highest-ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee. But he has seen his reputation tarnished after a series of ethics investigations.