Taking stock of Klein's post-election prospects

The roughly 50 percent of Democratic primary voters in the northwest Bronx who chose former Councilman Oliver Koppell over state Sen. Jeff Klein in September should not take out the champagne they reserve for occasions of Schadenfreude just yet.

Even though Mr. Klein is in the most awkward position he has occupied since entering the state Senate in 2005, there are a number of reasons he could remain a major player for at least the next two years, while Republicans have an outright majority in his chamber.

• The Republican majority is not that big. They have just one more vote than the combined total of Democrats and members of Mr. Klein’s Independent Democratic Conference. With one Republican, Thomas Libous of Binghamton, under indictment for undisclosed reasons, members of the IDC could come in handy to the Republican Conference if Mr. Libous has to leave office, among other eventualities.

• Mr. Klein has made himself nearly indispensible to Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called the senator his “number-one partner in Albany” during campaign season. Mr. Klein could remain useful to the mayor if Mr. de Blasio seeks Republican support on issues like a new minimum wage increase.

• Above all, there is Mr. Klein’s sheer political talent, which has left some commenters breathless, sent rivals’ heads spinning and maddened critics. After successfully selling an alliance with the Republicans loathed by progressive New York City for two years, he is likely to find a new position of influence in Albany next year — and make liberals here thank him for it.

On the other hand, challenges facing Mr. Klein, who did not answer an interview request for this column, could hinder him in both the short- and long-term.

• At a glance, the numbers in the Senate are close, but when you factor in putatively Democratic Bronx state Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., who has promised to vote Republican on a wide range of issues, and Brooklyn state Sen. Simcha Felder, who is considered Republican in all but name, Mr. Klein and his IDC are two seats’ more dispensable.