Changing of the Harlem Guard

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat made history Tuesday in winning the Democratic primary for Harlem’s seat in the US House of Representatives.

Which, given the district’s Democratic leanings, makes it likely he’ll soon become the first Dominican-born member of Congress.

And by itself his defeat of Assemblyman Keith Wright marks a changing of the guard for the district, which now stretches into The Bronx. If Espaillat takes the oath of office next January, it’ll mark the first time in 72 years that Harlem won’t be represented by an African-American in Congress.

Espaillat’s victory came after two worthy bids to unseat 23-term incumbent Charlie Rangel, who was censured by the House for multiple ethics violations in 2010.

Yet it was the campaign of Wright, Rangel’s chosen heir, that complained of dirty tricks in the campaign’s closing days, with laughable charges of “voter suppression.”

Please: Wright’s the Manhattan Democratic chairman. He controls not just the party, but even the electoral machinery — his people chose the polling places and workers.

Let’s hope Wright disavows the charges, and also the inflammatory racial comments made on his behalf in the runup to the voting.

Espaillat, a professed onetime undocumented immigrant, may want to push causes like immigration reform in Washington. After all, past reforms provided him with a pathway to citizenship and then to elected office.

On the other hand, he’s an experienced enough pol to know that the key to staying in Congress is to always remember that he represents all his diverse constituents — even the handful of Republicans.