Crowley, a Democrat, represents New York's seventh district, which covers a sliver of northern Queens (Woodside, Jackson Heights) and a chunk of the east Bronx (Co-op City, Parkchester, Pelham Bay, City Island).

New York City native Crowley wasted no time in jumping into politics: He won election to the State Assembly in 1986 at the tender age of 24. (It didn't hurt that his uncle was long-time City Councilman Walter Crowley.) After 12 years in Albany, Crowley won a U.S. Congressional seat in 1998 and has been re-elected every two years since. He's currently a Chief Deputy Whip for the Democrats in the House, making him one of the higher-ranking New Yorkers in the party leadership.

Within Congress, Crowley is known for being relatively pro-business (the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee named him chair of their Business Council outreach program) and he serves on the House's Powerful Ways and Means Committee. Locally, though, he's best known as the boss of the Queens Democratic Party, a position he assumed after the death of Thomas Manton, whom he'd succeed in Congress, too. In that position, Crowley is a kingmaker, and his support is vital to any Democrat seeking elected office in the borough. He's also a vital emissary to Manhattan politicians seeking to curry favor with residents of Queens. Mayor Bloomberg, for example, actively courted—and won—Crowley's support on his controversial congestion pricing plan, hoping to change opinions in Queens at large where opposition to the plan was strong. [Image via Getty]