While Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo beat actress and activist Cynthia Nixon 65-35 in Thursday's New York primary, six of his eight allies at the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) lost their Democratic primaries. Republicans have controlled the New York state Senate since World War II aside from brief periods in 1965 and 2009-2010, but Thursday brings Democrats within striking range of forging a real and lasting majority.
The IDC's defeat was a long time coming. The group first voted with the GOP to give the minority party control of the New York state Senate in 2013 even though Democrats nominally had a majority, and they'd stuck with Team Red for years to keep them in charge and block progressive legislation. While the IDC announced earlier this year that they'd rejoin the mainstream Democratic caucus, their many detractors understandably were not appeased after years of dealing with the renegade senators and their pledges to reunify.
In the biggest upset of them all, attorney Alessandra Biaggi toppled IDC leader Jeff Klein lost 55-45; four years ago, Klein turned back a serious primary challenger 65-35. In another surprise, state Sen. David Valesky, a founding member of the IDC, lost to Syracuse University administrator Rachel May 52-48. Former New York City Comptroller John Liu also beat Tony Avella 53-47 four years after losing to him by the same margin.
State Sens. Marisol Alcantara, Jesse Hamilton, and Jose Peralta all joined the IDC after the 2016 elections in what turned out to be a big mistake. Hamilton even infamously tried to appease his angry constituents with fliers suggesting that the initials "IDC” actually stood for "Immigrant Defense Coalition." They weren't fooled, and Hamilton lost to attorney Zellnor Myrie 54-46, while former New York City Councilor Robert Jackson and former mayoral aide Jessica Ramos ousted Alcantara and Peralta 55-40 and 55-45, respectively.
The only two IDCers who survived were Diane Savino, who won 67-21, and David Carlucci, who prevailed 55-45. Additionally, Simcha Felder, who never was a member of the IDC and remains a member of the GOP caucus, decisively won.
Democrats, with Felder included, nominally hold a bare 32-31 majority, but the IDC made taking the chamber a herculean task. However, the math got a whole lot better on Thursday. All the defeated senators hold seats Hillary Clinton carried by double digits, so mainstream Democrats shouldn't have much trouble winning in November. The reddest of the bunch is Valesky's Syracuse-area SD-53, which went from 62-36 Obama to 54-40 Clinton, while Klein's seat was next at a hefty 74-24 Clinton.
All this means that, even if Felder remains in the GOP caucus while Savino and Carlucci remain difficult, Democrats only need to net three seats to hold a bare majority. Clinton carried 40 of the 63 districts, all of which are up this year, and especially with five Republicans retiring, this goal finally looks attainable this year.