The August primary is here. With several congressional and state Senate races coming down to the wire, here are five questions that will be answered when the votes are counted Tuesday evening.

1. Nadler v. Maloney — who goes home?

For 30 years, Rep. Jerry Nadler and Rep. Carolyn Maloney have represented opposite sides of Central Park. Redistricting merged the Upper West and Upper East Sides into one congressional district, forcing the two longest-serving members of New York’s House of Representatives delegation in a battle for their political lives. 

There’s a chance a third candidate in the race, Suraj Patel, will emerge triumphant, sending both of the powerful Democrats into retirement — he came within four points of Maloney in the 2020 primary — but recent polling shows Nadler with a healthy lead.

Maloney has argued Nadler is part of an “old boys’ club” and that the country needs women to lead in Washington after the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Nadler has made the case that his experience and judgment on key issues — voting against the Iraq War and for the Iran nuclear deal, to name two — exceed Maloney’s. Patel has said both are “1990s Democrats” ill-equipped to take on the challenges of the 21st century’s second decade.

2. Will Dan Goldman beat out his progressive rivals?

Former federal prosecutor Dan Goldman, who helped orchestrate former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment inquiry, appears to be the man to beat in the 10th Congressional District’s Democratic primary, according to both publicly available polling.

Twice last week, two separate pairs of candidates in the race teamed up to denounce Goldman in press conferences. First, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and Rep. Mondaire Jones joined forces to label Goldman as a conservative attempting to buy himself a congressional seat. Then, CouncilwomanCarlina Rivera and former city Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman denounced him for his position on abortion.

Goldman has poured over $4 million of his own fortune into the race. An heir to the Levi Strauss denim fortune, Goldman argues he spent the money to allow him to spend more time with voters and less with donors.

The progressive contenders for the seat continue to attack him, but have failed to coalesce around a single candidate, leaving Goldman a wide-open lane in a low turnout race with a dozen candidates competing.

3. Can Gustavo Rivera beat the Bronx Democratic machine?

In 2010, Gustavo Rivera led an insurgent campaign against powerful Bronx Democrat Pedro Espada to win a state Senate seat and topple the scandal-plagued powerbroker.

Now, after more than a decade representing the central Bronx, redistricting has placed Rivera in conflict with a challenger of his own, attorney Miguelina Camilo. Camilo has the backing of the Bronx Democrats, the powerful county party that is not particularly fond of Rivera.

“I supported him every time he ran. But do we agree on all political issues? No, he is very far to the left,” Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz told NY1 recently. Dinowitz, a top party official in both the Bronx and the state Assembly, represents the parts of the northwest Bronx Rivera must now contend in. “He is a captive of the Working Families Party, he does support BDS, he does support defund the police. I don’t agree with him on those issues. But it’s more than that. It’s very simple. Miguelina Camilo is running, she has been running, and he decided to go into a different district and run against her.”

4. Will Rep. Adriano Espaillat continue his winning streak?

The first Dominican-born American to serve in the U.S. Congress, Rep. Adriano Espaillat has emerged as an influential powerbroker since winning his seat in 2016. His voter operation and political savvy have carried allies to victory in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

He helped elect his former aide Oswald Feliz to the City Council in 2021 and guided AssemblymanGeorge Alvarez to victory over the former Bronx Democratic party boss José Rivera in June. Switching his endorsement in the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary from then-city Comptroller Scott Stringer to Eric Adams was viewed as a pivotal moment in the race.

Now he hopes to topple state Sen. Robert Jackson — who once challenged Espaillat in 2014 — by backing fellow Dominican-American Angel Vasquez. Espiallat has also endorsed Miguelina Camilo against state Sen. Gustavo Rivera in the Bronx and Council Member Carlina Rivera in the 10th Congressional District’s Democratic primary.

5. What does a Mayor Eric Adams’ endorsement mean?

Mayor Eric Adams has stayed out of the competitive congressional races in the city this cycle, but he has dove head first into state Senate races, pitting progressives against more moderate Democrats the mayor has aligned himself with.

In a May special election, his endorsement of a former aide did little to help in an Assembly campaign.

This time around, the mayor has offered his endorsement and fundraising prowess to several moderates taking on progressive incumbents or Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates.

Adams held a fundraiser for Miguelina Camilo in her contest against state Sen. Gustavo Rivera. And he endorsed Rev. Conrad Tiller against the DSA-backed state Sen. Jabrari Brisport. Another DSA candidate, Kristen Gonzalez, is also going up against the mayor’s preferred pick, former City CouncilwomanElizabeth Crowley in a district that spans parts of Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan.