Metro

Democrats to vote on fate of GOP-allied defectors

The state Democratic Party — led by Gov. Cuomo — is taking aim at breakaway Democrats who have helped the GOP maintain control of the state Senate, sources said.

The state Democratic committee will vote on Wednesday whether to demand that members of Independent Democratic Conference end their alliance with Republicans — or else.

Those that don’t may no longer receive donations from the state party or get help from local Democratic clubs gathering signatures on nominating petitions.

Republicans hold just 31 of the 63 seats in the Senate.

But they call the shots by counting Democrat Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) as a member of their conference, while making deals with the 8-member IDC led by Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx).

Cuomo has claimed that he’s done all he can to get the IDC and mainstream Democrats back together.

“I can facilitate a marriage, but that assumes you have two parties who want to marry each other. If they don’t want to marry, I have no power or role in forcing the marriage. There is no political shotgun-marriage equivalent,” he said on July 11.

The retaliation threat by the state party comes as Cuomo tries to clear the deck for his re-election and possibly the 2020 presidential race.

He promised mainstream Senate Democrats during a meeting this week in his midtown office that he would work toward winning a majority in the chamber next year, Politico reported.

Critics on the left say Cuomo has been far too accommodating of the rebel Democrats and hasn’t exerted pressure on them to return to the Democratic fold.

It’s a story line that’s been picked up by national media.

“This is another political stunt by people more interested in getting print than votes. We will see you at the polls,” said IDC spokeswoman Candice Giove.