Kornbluh of Jewish Insider, the area's voters mostly register as Democrats in order to have a say in local elections, but prefer Republicans at the state level. On paper, Felder's district is one of the more conservative districts in New York City. Donald Trump carried it with 52.8 percent of the vote in 2016, and Mitt Romney carried it with 58.3 percent in 2012. In both cases, only the Staten Island-based 24th district gave a higher vote percentage to a Republican presidential candidate. In June 2018, Democratic State Committee members approved an informal resolution recommending Felder's ouster from the party. Former state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs, speaking to reporters afterward, reiterated their exasperation with Felder: In the 2018 Democratic primary in September 2018, Felder defeated Blake Morris, a lawyer. Morris was endorsed by Brooklyn Progressive Action Network, the labor union SEIU 32BJ, and the progressive group Our Revolution. Felder won re-election on November 6, 2018. The 2018 elections saw the Democrats win control of the State Senate for only the second time since World War II. Felder sought to rejoin the Senate Democratic Conference. However, on December 31, 2018, the Senate Democratic Conference announced that Felder would not be allowed to rejoin its ranks. Even without Felder, the Democrats had 39 Senate seats, seven more than the 32 needed for a majority. On January 9, 2019, the Daily News reported that Felder had decided against caucusing with the Republicans, and was looking forward to rejoining the Senate Democrats "'at the appropriate time'". Felder was accepted into the Democratic caucus July 1, 2019 after having voted with the Democrats on multiple major pieces of legislation. Personal life Felder's father was Rabbi Harry Felder, spiritual leader of Beth Aaron Congregation in Borough Park. References External links New York State Senate Site Simcha Felder SimchaFelder.org Simcha Felder Campaign Site Felder2009.org Another Simcha Felder Campaign Site Simcha Felder for New York State Senate Facebook Group Ballotpedia: Simcha Felder Living people People from Borough Park, Brooklyn New York City Council members American Orthodox Jews Jewish American state legislators in New York (state) 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party New York (state) state senators 1958 births 21st-century American Jews