Assemblyman Tague Announces State Senate 51st District Run
By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
SCHOHARIE
Chris Tague, a Republican representing the 102nd District in the New York State Assembly, has announced his candidacy for the 51st Senate District. The district includes all of Otsego, Schoharie, Delaware, and Sullivan counties, and parts of Chenango, Broome, and Ulster counties.
“I didn’t go to Albany to make friends. I went to fight for the people I represent,” Tague said in a press release. Saying he has stood up to the “radical agenda that’s driving up our costs, tying the hands of law enforcement, and steamrolling” local families, farmers, and small businesses, Tague vowed “to make sure our district has a strong voice at the table and a fighter in our corner every single day.”
Tague plans to run on three platform planks: affordability, public safety, and “protecting Upstate” from “one-size-fits-all mandates” and “out-of-touch bureaucrats.” He said he will advocate for cutting taxes, fees, and mandates, as well as back law enforcement, fix “Albany’s failed criminal justice policies,” and put “victims ahead of criminals.”
Fellow Republican and incumbent SD 51 Senator Peter Oberacker has endorsed Tague to be his successor. When Oberacker announced his congressional candidacy earlier this fall, Tague was there at the Schenevus fire station to endorse and introduce him.
Other local Republicans to endorse Tague out of the gate included: Ed Frazier, chair of the Otsego County Board of Representatives; County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr.; County Treasurer Allen Ruffles; County Clerk Jennifer Basile; and Assemblymembers Joe Angelino, Brian Miller, and Brian Maher. Tague is also the chosen candidate of Republican state legislative minority leaders State Senator Rob Ortt and Assemblymember Will Barclay.
“I’ve known Chris for several, several years,” Frazier told AllOtsego in an interview. “He’s always been available. Everywhere you go, Chris Tague’s been there. Every issue that we’ve had to deal with at the county, if we reach out to him, he’s been more than willing to help out.
“He’ll do a great job,” Frazier said.
Tague first won the Assembly seat in 2018 after having served as Schoharie town supervisor. He currently serves as Ranking Member for the Agriculture Committee.
According to the press release, Tague started his own dairy farm at 16 years old before selling it and moving into the highway and construction industry, where he worked his way up into management. Tague’s campaign officials said they will be announcing a launch event in the near future.
“People in our district are working harder than ever and getting less in return while Albany politicians play games with their paychecks, their energy bills, and their kids’ education,” Tague said. “I’ll never stop fighting to make New York affordable, safe and accountable to the people who actually live here.”
Already in the race is Republican Sullivan County legislator Terry Bernardo. She narrowly lost a 2022 primary challenge against Oberacker. Oberacker first won the seat in 2020.
Bernardo told AllOtsego she welcomed “the opportunity to present voters with a clear choice.”
“This primary will not be decided by the ‘Albany politicians’ choice,’” she said, referring to Tague’s support among GOP legislative leaders. “It will be decided by the people of Senate District 51—farmers, small business owners, working families—many of whom feel they’ve been overlooked by the political class for too long. I’m proud to be from Sullivan County, whose economy is based on tourism and agriculture, just like others. We have the same issues—we need Albany out of our lives and to give New Yorkers the freedom to succeed without being destroyed by state government.
“I look forward to a vigorous debate about how to make New York an affordable place where children can stay here and will make my case to the voters,” Bernardo said.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrat Michele Frazier, a former city councilmember in Oneonta, recently announced her candidacy. She lost her prior campaign against Oberacker in 2024.
In a statement, she welcomed Tague to the race and the chance to compare their records, “mine of leadership in service of the people versus his of hyperpartisanship in service of his own political ambition.” Frazier pointed to her advocacy “for summer childhood programming to help working families, building a community dog park to bring people together, improving energy efficiency for the city to save taxpayer money, making our parks family-friendly smoke free zones, and more.
“During his seven years serving in the State Assembly, the only bills Mr. Tague has passed are commemorative or memorializing,” she wrote. “The other bills he sponsored are to provide tax giveaways to corporations which starve our schools and communities of resources, to protect Elon Musk and his Tesla corporation, to line the pockets of out-of-state big oil companies by promoting the outdated reliance and use of fossil fuels, and to override protections for families and children by giving potential abusers shared custody.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: AllOtsego and its newspapers, “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta,” are proudly locally owned. In the news business these days, that’s rare. We need your help to keep AllOtsego for all of Otsego, not hedge funds hundreds of miles away who don’t care about the intricacies of local government or the milestones of everyday people like you. Can you subscribe, or donate, to our newspaper business? While donations are not tax deductible, rest assured they will be put to good use. When local media declines, corruption rises. Powerful people realize no one is watching and act accordingly. Getting you the news takes seven days a week, driving across the county, filing costly record requests, tech, phone, and other bills, and so much more. From finding human interest stories like a boat rescue on Otsego Lake to deep dives into controversial development proposals, reporting the news takes being a part of our community, knowing the micro-histories and relationships that make this such a special place. On such small margins, we couldn’t do it without you, dear loyal reader. (With your help, soon you’ll be a watcher and listener, too!) Support all of Otsego by supporting AllOtsego today.
Darla M. Youngs, General Manager and Senior Editor
AllOtsego, “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta”
PO Box 890, Cooperstown, NY 13326
