GOP looks to flip a southern Brooklyn Senate seat

The game of southern Brooklyn musical chairs that kicked off with the retirement of former Assembly Member Helene Weinstein will finally conclude this week. On Tuesday, voters headed to the polls to vote in a special election for state Senate District 22. Although the largely Orthodox Jewish community in the district overwhelmingly supported President Donald Trump the past two years, Democrats are still confident they will continue representing the district. 

The race is to replace now-New York City Council Member Simcha Felder in the state Senate. Felder left his legislative seat after winning the race to replace now-Assembly Member Kalman Yeger, who replaced Weinstein in the Assembly after hitting his City Council term limit. Felder’s old state Senate seat is the final one that needs to be filled as lawmakers in southern Brooklyn swap and trade seats.

Lawmakers practically created the seat for Felder in 2012 during redistricting. At the time, it was the 17th state Senate District. Though legislators renumbered the seat in the most recent round of redistricting, its lines did not change dramatically. At the time, state leaders decided to create a predominantly Orthodox Jewish state Senate district to give the community a greater voice in the upper chamber. Felder easily beat his Republican opponent in 2012 in his first election. 

The race to replace Felder pits two Jewish community leaders against each other. Democrat Sam Sutton is a well-known member of the Sephardic Jewish community in Brooklyn and a nonprofit leader. Republican Nachman (Carl) Caller is an Orthodox lawyer who serves as a GOP district leader and has previously run for the Assembly. He is also running on the Conservative Party line. 

On paper, the race seems like it would be an easy win for Republicans. Orthodox voters are generally fairly conservative and have increasingly supported GOP candidates in recent years. In the past two presidential elections, voters in the 22nd state Senate District strongly supported Trump, with over 70% backing him in 2020. As the entire city shifted rightward in 2024, support was similarly high again last year. 

But despite the national electoral trends, most Orthodox communities continue to vote for moderate or conservative Democrats who straddle party lines at the local level. Felder, for example, is a registered Democrat, but often ran on the Republican and Conservative Party lines as well. He also used to caucus with Republicans, much to the chagrin of Democrats in his chamber – they considered not letting him rejoin the conference when they won back the majority in 2018.

Yeger, another conservative Democratic whose district overlaps with the state Senate seat, said a candidate in that mold is poised to win again. “Unlike many parts of our city, Democratic candidates in our neighborhood are typically not from the loony left,” he said in a text message. “Sam is proof that if we provide the voters with a common-sense Democrat, the voters will choose to send a representative who serves in the majority, because that's the only way we can get anything done for our community.” Despite the recent voting trends for president, Yeger said “not this time” when asked if the GOP could now pick up the seat.

Sutton has broad support from Democratic leaders and officials both in and out of Brooklyn, and is considered the frontrunner in the race. That includes Rep. Ritchie Torres, state Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and nearly every nearby Democratic lawmaker.

Caller has also attracted some high-profile endorsers, including Reps. Elise Stefanik and Mike Lawler. The latter represents a sizable Orthodox Jewish community in Rockland County. While Sutton is viewed as the frontrunner, the race promises to be competitive.