It has become something of a ritual in recent weeks. Every few days, State Senator Kevin S. Parker announces that another prominent elected official has endorsed him, often doing so at a press conference in front of Brooklyn’s Borough Hall.

Mr. Parker, a Democrat who was an aide to H. Carl McCall, a former state comptroller, has been trying to showcase his support among leaders throughout Brooklyn. And these leaders say Mr. Parker needs all the support he can get because he is regarded as being in the fight of his short career.

Two City Council members are challenging Mr. Parker: Kendall Stewart and Simcha Felder. The winner of Tuesday’s primary is virtually guaranteed to win in the November election in the 21st District, which is overwhelmingly Democratic.

Senator Parker insists that his opponents are driven more by their looming joblessness than a desire to serve the district: under the city’s term-limit laws, both councilmen are barred from running for re-election next year.

But within the district, which includes Flatbush and East Flatbush, many view the race as a referendum on whether Mr. Parker has lived up to expectations. When he was first elected in 2002, he was celebrated as representing the best of the new generation of the borough’s politicians.

But Mr. Parker has had a sometimes turbulent tenure in a district where his hold on the electorate has been seen as tenuous. His opponents — and more than a few of his supporters — accuse him of arrogance and of an inability to control his temper.

Four years ago, he survived a challenge in the Democratic primary by former City Councilman Noach Dear, who spent heavily and came within a few hundred votes of an upset victory.

The following year, the senator was arrested, the police said, after he punched a traffic agent in the face as the agent was writing a summons for the senator’s double-parked car. While the charges were dropped, the episode has not been forgotten.

“My main issue is that he has been causing a lot of embarrassment in our district because of his anger issues and his record of not being involved,” Councilman Stewart said. “He’s largely been absent in the district and in Albany.”

Mr. Felder put it similarly. “There are three primary roles any official has: To help constituents with their problems, to pass legislation and to bring home the bacon, or if you’re kosher, the pastrami. And he’s been missing in action on all three.”

Incumbent state senators typically enjoy huge advantages, like name recognition and a greater ability to raise campaign funds. But both of Mr. Parker’s challengers are public officials who have proven popular with voters and adept at raising money. Mr. Felder has raised more than $1 million and has benefited from fund-raisers hosted by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, his most prominent supporter. (Mr. Parker has raised about $400,000 and Mr. Stewart has raised less than $100,000.)

Mr. Parker defended his Senate record, saying he has helped the Legislature achieve on-time budgets in four consecutive years and has steered more state spending for public education.

“I launched an H.I.V. and AIDS task force for the district,” Mr. Parker said. “My record has been solid.”

This year’s primary has had an undercurrent of ethnic politics. In the last census, the district was about 60 percent black, 20 percent white, 10 percent Hispanic and 5 percent Asian. (The remainder was multiracial or other.) The black population is largely of Caribbean descent, and Mr. Stewart, who was born in St. Vincent, has been highlighting his West Indian roots. Mr. Parker is African-American.

Should Mr. Parker and Mr. Stewart split the black vote, that could work to the advantage of Mr. Felder, who is white and Jewish and is expected to do well among the district’s sizeable Jewish electorate.

In addressing Mr. Parker’s chances, Michael Gaspard, a political consultant who has worked in several Democratic campaigns in Brooklyn, said, “It’s a very tough race for him.

“It’s tough because he’s going up against two other incumbents, which is very rare in politics,” Mr. Gaspard added. “They each have political bases, and Simcha Felder has Bloomberg’s money — and that makes it tough.”

Although the recent flurry of endorsement announcements — including Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and Representative Yvette D. Clarke — may suggest that Mr. Parker is worried about his re-election prospects, the senator insists he is not.

“The people of my district understand the work that I’ve done in the last few years,” Mr. Parker said on Friday. “They know that I have two opponents who are simply looking for jobs and that they are not interested in doing a good job.”

(LINK to NY Times)