Rep. Grace Meng To Face Primary Challenge For Congress

FLUSHING, QUEENS — U.S. Rep. Grace Meng of Queens will face her first primary challenger since she was elected to Congress in 2012, according to a news report.

The four-term Congress member will go up against Melquiades Gagarin, a member of the Queens branch of the Democratic Socialists of America member, in a 2020 Democratic primary, the Queens Daily Eagle reported.

Meng, a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, represents a swath of Queens that includes Bayside, Flushing, Forest Hills, Elmhurst, Middle Village and Glendale.

She is the Democratic National Committee's Vice Chair and has the backing of the Queens Democratic Party.

Meng has not faced a primary challenger since she won her seat in 2012, after defeating then-Assembly Member (and current City Council Member) Rory Lancman and then-City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley for the Democratic nomination.

She is New York's first Asian-American Congresswoman, according to DNAinfo.

Gagarin, a Kew Gardens resident, formally announced his campaign in a July 23 letter to Meng, first reported by the Queens Daily Eagle.

In the letter, Gagarin calls himself a "true progressive alternative" and says he is running to "bring more democratic control over our economy, put people at the heart of policymaking, and fight back against the fascist governance that has typified the Trump presidency."

He told the Eagle that the insurgent campaigns of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Queens district attorney candidate Tiffany Cabán inspired his decision to run.

"Anybody is entitled to run and we take nothing for granted," Meng told the Eagle in response to Gagarin launching his primary bid. "I will continue to fight tirelessly for the people of Queens."