As Other Disloyal Democrats Suffer, Simcha Felder Perseveres

NEW YORK — On the evening of the Democratic primary in Borough Park, Brooklyn, Orthodox Jews clad in black hats and long coats lined up at Public School 192 to cast their votes. Most of them supported Andrew M. Cuomo for governor, but above all else, they had come to the polls for one purpose: to enthusiastically re-elect their local senator, Simcha Felder.

Across the state, Felder has been painted by his critics as a traitor and a turncoat, a rogue Democrat who sits with the Republicans, giving them a one-vote majority in the state Senate. He essentially held the state budget hostage in the spring until he won concessions for religious schools known as yeshivas, and he fought a tax on plastic bags that Democrats saw as a boon for the environment.

Because he stands in the way of Democratic control of the Senate, Felder has been a potent target for progressive ire.

But Felder, who was elected in 2012, has shown an even greater capacity to navigate political headwinds, and escape unscathed. The primary Thursday was no exception: Felder dispatched his challenger, Blake Morris, a progressive candidate, winning 63 percent of the vote.

“We love Simcha Felder. We’ve known him for many, many, many years,” Susan Kleinbart, 65, said as she left the polls. “He was the reason we came out.”

Most people exiting the polling place in Borough Park said they were unconcerned with Felder’s collaboration with Republicans, even seeing it as a benefit. (The district heavily favored Donald Trump in the 2016 election.)

“It’s a great idea to build bridges and not just make divisions,” said Zivia Schwartz.

On the corner next to the polling place, a volunteer in a prayer shawl handed out sample ballots written in Hebrew that directed people to vote for Felder. “I know Simcha,” said Pinchas, the volunteer, who like many of the people interviewed gave only his first name because he wanted to maintain his privacy. Felder, he said, had been “fighting for our schools — everything that the rabbis want.”

The scene was starkly different across town, where supporters of Morris gathered at the Hinterlands bar in Kensington to watch the election results and drink a cocktail called the “Blue Wave.” Morris had tried to exploit Felder’s cozy relationship with Republicans, positioning himself as a “real Democrat” who would push for universal health care and affordable housing.

“We were trying to find the younger people, the first-time voters,” said Lynn Stabile, 43, who had canvassed for Morris in Sunset Park.

But as the votes were tallied, it became clear that the campaign had failed to garner enough support.

Morris remained in good spirits even after learning that he had lost, though he was disappointed he had not managed to change the balance of power in Albany. “I was really hoping to make a difference, to flip the state Senate,” he said.

Near the end of the night, Morris climbed atop a chair at the back of the bar to thank his supporters. “Get ‘em next time!” someone shouted from the crowd.

As he spoke, the screen to his right displayed the concession speech of Cynthia Nixon, another erstwhile progressive candidate who lost her primary battle to Cuomo.

“We started with nothing and we earned every single vote,” she said to a raucous, cheering crowd. Morris turned toward the screen, momentarily distracted from his own small band of supporters.

Felder did not have a watch party. He declined to be interviewed, only releasing a statement that asserted that the district’s voters acted “on the issues that matter to them: safety and security, quality of life and education.”

Felder’s continued power in the state Senate may not last, if the Democrats manage to flip a Republican-held seat in the midterm elections. “Let me say that the Democratic conference will not need you in November the way they need you now,” Cuomo wrote in a letter to Felder in April.

But in Brooklyn, his constituents did not seem to care what the governor, or anyone else for that matter, had to say about their local leader. As Josh Mehlman, chairman of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition said, “The community is solidly behind Simcha Felder.”