NEW YORK - In the countdown to Super Tuesday when voters cast ballots in 24 states, the race between Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is dividing prominent political households, first the Kennedys and now the Rangels.

Alma Rangel — the wife of Rep. Charlie Rangel, an indefatigable Clinton supporter and the dean of Harlem politics — is backing Obama.

“I believe Barack Obama has the ability to unify this country and the character to stand up for what’s right instead of what’s popular,” she said in a statement e-mailed by the Obama campaign on Friday.

The Clinton-or-Obama debate has been trying for many African-Americans who remember Bill Clinton’s presidency fondly but also know that Obama would be the first black president.

Underscoring his commitment to the black community, Bill Clinton opened his foundation’s office on the main Harlem artery of 125th Street, the same street as Rangel’s congressional office and the historic Apollo Theater, where Obama held a campaign rally in November.

The Rangels are not the first political family divided by the race.

Obama has won the endorsement of Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, brother to the late President John F. Kennedy, a Democratic hero. He also won the backing of JFK’s daughter Caroline Kennedy, who called Obama the heir her father’s legacy.

But her cousins, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kerry Kennedy announced that they are in the Clinton camp.

In 2000, Clinton won the former senate seat of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a strong supporter of hers. On Thursday, his widow Elizabeth Moynihan declared herself an Obama backer. 

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Clinton and Rangel), Jason Reed (Obama and Kennedy)