Eric Schneiderman’s open State Senate seat, a competitive race to knock off embattled Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr., and half a dozen competitive Assembly races and district leader races are already getting heated. And more are potentially in the works.

Serving as a backdrop is another struggle over control of the Bronx County Democratic Party. Last time around, José Rivera was ousted as chair by his Assembly colleague Carl Heastie and the “Rainbow Rebels.” This time, Heastie is battling to keep the party reins from another Rivera, Assembly Member Peter Rivera—allied with José but not related.

County loyalists claim that Peter Rivera is quietly supporting a group of political activists called Bronx For Change that has been trying to recruit candidates to run for district leader and county committee positions against county-backed incumbents.

Rivera denied this. “I know the members,” Rivera said.

“I don’t know their agenda. I don’t know their plans. I don’t know their goals.”

Rivera said he was disappointed that his loyalty to the county organization is being called into question, which he then hinted might be part of its own machinations.

“My name gets thrown around with them a lot,” he said. “It leads me to believe that people are trying to use me or send a message that I’m uncomfortable [with the party].”

County insiders remain skeptical, though, saying Bronx For Change has held its meetings in Rivera’s political club and shares his unstated goal of destabilizing the party organization. Rivera supporters fire back that one of the group’s founders, Carlos “Charlie” Ramos, used to work for Ruben Diaz, Jr., the current Bronx borough president and Heastie’s Rainbow Rebel compatriot.

Ramos recently launched a bid to unseat Heastie loyalist Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. Given the senator’s strong opposition to same-sex marriage, Ramos said he hopes to get support from pro marriage equality political action groups for his uphill race.

“I’ve met with those groups, I’m meeting with the Working Families Party,” said Ramos, who also previously worked for former City Comptroller William Thompson. “I’m meeting with as many groups as possible.”

Ramos chalked the rumors about his connections to Peter Rivera up to tabloid gossip.

“Peter has nothing to do with what I’m doing,” he said. “He’s a friend. But we don’t talk about this race.”

Despite being recently hospitalized for stomach pains, Diaz, Sr. said he is fired up about the primary challenge, especially if it shines light on Ramos’ campaign.

“Right now, whoever is behind Charlie Ramos, what they’re going to do, they’re going to make me stronger,” Diaz, Sr. said. “Charlie Ramos is just a patsy in the whole thing. Poor Charlie Ramos.”

Upset by the implications that Peter Rivera is possibly backing a challenger against him, Diaz, Sr. is retaliating by backing Luis Sepulveda, an attorney and adjunct professor running against Rivera in his south central Bronx district. Sepulveda cited allegations of Rivera misusing campaign contributions for his own personal gain.

“I know he’s vulnerable. He’s got problems with the county organization,” Sepulveda said. “I don’t know if the county leader is going to bring Peter back into the fold.”

Party insiders say that Rivera is so unnerved by his primary challenge that he has been deep in discussions with Heastie in recent weeks hoping for a rapprochement but, so far, to little avail.

“What they need is to work it out,” said one party insider of Rivera and Heastie. “Carl wants to support those incumbents who want to be supported.”

Meanwhile, the county appears to be leaning toward supporting district leader Hector Ramirez over Assembly Member Nelson Castro, another José Rivera and Peter Rivera loyalist. If the county does back Ramirez, then José Rivera, still influential in his home borough, could lean on Peter Rivera to end his negotiations with Heastie and the county party.

But the marquee Bronx race this year remains the primary against Espada. While dollars have been flowing in from around the state, within the borough the main question is whether the county party will stick with the majority leader now at the center of multiple investigations. There are a handful of candidates looking at the race, though most of the attention has focused on Desiree Hunter, a community activist and co-op board president.

Heastie’s organization is in a tight spot: despite his many troubles, Espada is not only an incumbent and the Senate majority leader, but has a strong independent political base of his own.

There is speculation that the county party may stay neutral, though Hunter said she would be disappointed if it did.

“There has to be a standard set for what makes a Democrat,” she said. “They have to figure that out.”

Espada did not return a call for comment.

Party members are concerned that the organization will have enough money to defend its loyal incumbents if they back a series of challenges. José Rivera notably left little in the party’s coffers after being overthrown by Heastie.

“I think in any county party, nobody wants to see a huge number of primaries,” said Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, chair of the county committee. “We don’t want to strain our own resources.”

Heastie, for one, cast doubt on the idea that the high number of challengers will actually make it through the petition process to the primary election in September, saying he still has to do a district-by-district assessment.

When asked how his discussions with Peter Rivera and his camp have progressed, Heastie said much is still up in the air.

“One thing I have to determine is whether it’s a one-night stand just to get elected,” Heastie said, “or is it really about having a relationship with the organization.”

He added, “And it has to be a two-way relationship.”