ALBANY — Bronx State Sen. Jeff Klein’s influential group of breakaway Democrats gained a new member Monday.
Brooklyn Sen. Jesse Hamilton announced he would join the Klein-led Independent Democratic Conference, dealing a pre-election jolt to the mainline Democrats and their hopes of capturing control of the Senate.
“The Independent Democratic Conference delivers for New Yorkers: the best paid family leave program in the nation, a $15 minimum wage, and the toughest gun laws in the country,” Hamilton said in a statement. “They get results. That’s why I’ve decided to join my fellow Democrats and become the newest member of the IDC.”
With Hamilton’s defection, the IDC will likely have at least seven members when the Senate reconvenes in January, further boosting Klein’s leverage in the leadership debate expected to take place after the election.
“We welcome Senator Jesse Hamilton aboard the Independent Democratic Conference as our seventh member and look forward to achieving even more results for the people of New York with his support,” the IDC said in a statement.
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