Levy said Rice’s greatest political strength is “her ability to attract independents and soft Republicans” — voters who will not be present much in a closed-party primary in a non-presidential election year, when elections tend to skew toward the major parties’ bases. Abrahams will, however, be able to count to a greater degree on his most loyal constituency, minority Democratic voters, showing up at the polls.

“How well can a credible black candidate do in a district where a substantial number of voters are people of color?” Levy asked. “It’s going to be intriguing to see how well [Abrahams] can do, and whether a superior treasury and organization and name recognition can enable the white candidate to dominate.”

The Hofstra dean said he was interested in watching the race unfold for this reason, but he stopped short of predicting an outcome.

In the first quarter of 2014, Rice’s campaign raised more than four times as much money as that of any other candidate, Democrat or Republican, and she enjoys the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Working Families Party and many regional unions, among others. Rice declined an invitation to debate Abrahams before the primary.

Republican primary

The Republican primary looks to be even more lopsided. Bruce Blakeman is a well-connected political insider who has won elections in Nassau County before and is endorsed by the Nassau Republican, Conservative and Independence parties. Scaturro has never held office, but he has earned the displeasure of Republican leaders by running time and again against their hand-picked candidates.