Sen. Simcha Felder
Simcha Felder is a Democrat representing New York's 22nd Senate District (D+30), first elected in 2013 and currently serving his 12th year in the chamber. In the 2025 session, he has sponsored 36 bills with a primary focus on vehicle and traffic law, education, and tax policy, while recording zero committee hearing engagements. Despite a 98.6% party loyalty rate overall, Felder cast all four of his dissenting votes against his Democratic caucus on abortion-related legislation in January 2025.AI
Topic Focus AI
Topics extracted by AI from floor speeches, committee hearing transcripts, and sponsored legislation. Bill and hearing citations link to source records for verification. Tag size reflects number of supporting citations.
Key Issues
From committee hearings, and bill sponsorship.
Legislative Activity (2025–2026)
Based on complete Senate roll call records.
Bill Outcomes 2025 Session
Covers Senate-sponsored bills only. Status from Open Legislation API.
Electoral History SD-22
General Elections
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Simcha Felder 100.0% (74,999) | Uncontested | — |
| 2022 | Simcha Felder 95.4% (59,534) | Marva C. Brown 4.6% (2,846) | 90.9pts |
| 2020 | Andrew S. Gounardes 51.9% (51,565) | Vito J. Bruno 48.1% (47,830) | ⚡ 3.8pts |
| 2018 | Andrew S. Gounardes 51.0% (33,507) | Martin J. Golden 49.0% (32,236) | ⚡ 1.9pts |
| 2016 | Martin J. Golden 100.0% (62,033) | Uncontested | — |
| 2014 | Martin J. Golden 68.9% (23,580) | James T. Kemmerer 31.1% (10,633) | 37.8pts |
| 2012 | Martin J. Golden 57.7% (38,584) | Andrew S. Gounardes 42.3% (28,243) | 15.5pts |
| 2010 | Martin J. Golden 65.8% (28,270) | Michael DiSanto 34.2% (14,666) | 31.7pts |
| 2008 | Martin J. Golden 100.0% (42,804) | Uncontested | — |
| 2006 | Martin J. Golden 100.0% (22,082) | Uncontested | — |
| 2004 | Martin J. Golden 100.0% (44,729) | Uncontested | — |
| 2002 | Martin J. Golden 54.7% (25,064) | Vincent J. Gentile 45.3% (20,795) | ⚡ 9.3pts |
| 2000 | Seymour P. Lachman 79.9% (42,164) | James C. Sutliff 18.2% (9,631) | 61.6pts |
| 1998 | Seymour P. Lachman 76.6% (30,542) | Nora C. De Angelo 20.1% (8,006) | 56.5pts |
| 1996 | Seymour P. Lachman 77.6% (37,016) | Salvatore J. Calise 22.4% (10,658) | 55.3pts |
Primary Elections
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 (Democratic) | Andrew S. Gounardes 57.7% (9,007) | Ross Barkan 42.3% (6,616) | 15.3pts |
Source: NYS Board of Elections certified results. ⚡ = margin under 10 pts.
Vulnerability Index SD-22
Base lean: D+16
- Recently competitive (margin < 10pts)
Scenario model: ±5pt national environment shift applied to district base lean (D+16). Base lean blends voter registration (40%) with recent contested general election margins (60%), using up to the last 4 general elections with margins under 40 points. Ratings: Safe D/R = 20+ pts, Likely = 10–19 pts, Lean = 4–9 pts, Toss-up = within 3 pts. "Generic ballot" refers to national partisan polling used to model favorable/unfavorable cycle environments. Not a prediction — reflects structural competitiveness under different cycle environments.
Top Co-Sponsors
District 22 Profile
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2024). Voter registration: NYS Board of Elections (Nov. 2025).
Voter Registration
Campaign Finance (2022–2025)
Top Donors
Donor Industries top donors
Source: NYS Board of Elections via data.ny.gov. Itemized monetary contributions only. ↔ Bills = donor industry aligns with bill sponsorship focus area.
Data through 2026-03-28.
Lobbying Activity 2024
Top Lobbying Issues
Top Organizations Lobbying This Senator
Source: NY Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government via data.ny.gov. Counts reflect bi-monthly disclosure records filed with the Ethics Commission — not individual meetings. ★ Chair = lobbying issue overlaps with a committee this senator chairs. ↔ Overlap = matches committee membership or bill sponsorship focus.
Demographics
Commute Mode
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2024). Race and ethnicity figures may not sum to 100% — Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity category that overlaps with racial groups.
Voting Record
Dissenting Votes by Topic
1 additional dissenting vote across other topics
From 326 recorded floor votes via OpenLeg API. Dissenting votes grouped by law section to reveal policy patterns.
Votes through 2025-04-09.
Committee Hearing Engagement (1) AI
| Date | Committee | Engagement | Stance | Focus Areas | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-02-06 | FINANCE | high | supportive | Special education services Federal court-ordered reforms Support for children with learning disabilities | Sen. Felder made an emotional appeal regarding special education services, referencing the mayor's personal experience with dyslexia and a federal judge's order for 40 reforms. He urged the mayor to work together to resolve the crisis, acknowledging the mayor's commitment while emphasizing the urgency of the issue. |