Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica) easily claimed victory in the Democratic primary Tuesday for the 5th Congressional District seat, racking up more than 67 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Board of Elections.

Meeks triumphed over competitors Mike Scala, a recent law school graduate; Joseph Marthone, a small business owner; and Allan Jennings, a former city councilman.

Candidates seen as the front runners in congressional primaries across Queens — whether incumbent lawmakers or party establishment choices — all won their nominations by wide margins Tuesday, according to preliminary results.

Democrats in much of Queens — and Republicans across the entire borough — will go to the polls June 26 to vote in primaries for their party’s nominees for Congress.

On the Republican side, the race pits U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Queens, Brooklyn) against Manhattan attorney Wendy Long and Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who each are seeking the nomination to run against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) for a full six-year term. Republicans across the state will be voting in the primary.

He’s a political newcomer, but Mike Scala, a law school graduate and hip-hop artist, believes he has what it takes to win the newly formed 5th Congressional District seat. It consists largely of Rep. Gregory Meeks’ (D-Jamaica) old 6th Congressional District, which the lawmaker has represented since 1998. In addition to Meeks, Scala is facing small business owner Joseph Marthone and former City Councilman Allan Jennings in the Democratic primary.

“I’m just somebody from the community who is frustrated with what’s been happening in Washington,” Scala said in an interview with the Queens Chronicle on Monday. “I feel like the needs of everyday people are going unserved while the focus remains on the wealthiest Americans.”

Joseph Marthone is dreaming big.

Several candidates who had planned to compete for the 28th District City Council seat formerly held by the late Tom White Jr. have dropped out of the race, according to the city’s Campaign Finance Board.

There appears to be no shortage of people vying for the seat vacated by the late City Councilman Tom White Jr., but you would never know it because the majority of them haven’t made a peep about their campaigns or their plans for the community. With the election a little over a month away, one can’t help but wonder — what are they waiting for?

Sporting a blue and white Barack Obama pin on the left side of his suit jacket, Joseph Marthone, a grassroots organizer for the president’s campaign last fall, borrows the world leader’s trademark word in pursuit of the 28th District seat in City Council.

If petition filings at the city Board of Elections office last week are any indication, Queens could be in for a roller coaster election season this fall.

The first major salvos in the crowded race for the 10th Senate District seat will be fired this week as the five contenders try to knock each other off the ballot.

The soap opera that is the 10th Senate District race may add yet another controversial cast member.

Embattled state Sen. Ada Smith has another challenger for her seat this fall, one who might get the backing of powerful allies in Southeast Queens.

The acrimonious dispute between state Sen. Ada Smith and a Southeast Queens nonprofit group took a bizarre twist this week, when the organization released a year old recording of a voice message from the senator that includes alleged threats against its employees.

Every couple of years, the name of state Sen. Ada L. Smith appears in the newspaper, and not for her good deeds. Last week, the Jamaica Democrat and veteran legislator was again tabloid fodder, this time for allegedly dousing a staffer with hot coffee. Whether or not the accusations prove to be true, the senator had better wake up and smell the coffee—and start discharging her duties with the appropriate dignity or find another job.

Although the September primary and November election are still more than half a year away, two candidates have formally declared their intentions to seek Ada Smith’s state Senate seat in Jamaica.

Rochdale Dispute