Simcha Felder Wins District 17 State Senate Race

KENSINGTON, BROOKLYN — State Senator Simcha Felder defeated challenger Blake Morris in the Democratic primary Thursday.

Registered Democrats in District 17 elected Felder as their candidate on Sept. 13, as New Yorkers across the state took to the polls to chose their party's nominees for seats in the state Legislature.

Felder, who has represented the district since 2012, was 22 points ahead with 9,910 votes when NY1 called the race in his favor around 9:45 p.m.

Morris had captured just 6,283 votes when about 80 percent had been tallied, according to city voting records.

Morris, a Brooklyn attorney, earned the endorsement of The New York Times and told Gothamist he'd making inroads among Orthodox voters in District 17, which covers Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Borough Park, Sheepshead Bay and Sunset Park.

Felder sparked outrage among Democrats this year when decided to caucus with Republicans after the disbandment of the Independent Democratic Conference.

But ultimately Morris was unable to defeat the well-established Felder, who had the Hasidic community and more than $500,000 in campaign donations behind him.

Morris wasn't the only progressive challenger hoping to unseat a longstanding incumbent.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hocul faced off against activist and former actress Cynthia Nixon and Brooklyn Councilman Jumaane Williams.

Also up for grabs was the position of attorney general, which Public Advocate Letitia James, law professor Zephyr Teachout, Verizon lobbyist Leecia Eve and U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney all hoped to claim.

The winners of the Thursday race will face off against Republican candidates in the Nov. 6 general election.

Photo courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images