![\"Tague](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DFN-L-tague-01.jpeg\")
Tague (Photo Provided)<\/p>\n
The two were vying for the right to run on the GOP line for the seat now held by Oberacker, who defeated Alexander Portelli in a primary election for the GOP line on the November ballot for the 19th District Congressional seat.<\/p>\n
Tague was first elected to the state Assembly on April 24, 2018, and then reelected to serve a full term that November. He was re-elected in 2020, and then again in 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n
Tague is a lifelong Upstate New Yorker, farmer and businessman.<\/p>\n
Raised in Schoharie County, Tauge \u201clearned the value of hard work at an early age,\u201d his campaign said in an email.<\/p>\n
At 16, he owned and operated his own dairy farm while balancing school and athletics, eventually tripling the size of the herd before selling the operation and entering the construction and highway materials industry, the campaign said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the course of his career, Chris worked his way up from laborer to equipment manager and ultimately general manager, overseeing multimillion-dollar infrastructure projects and leading large teams throughout New York,\u201d the campaign said. \u201cThose experiences gave him firsthand knowledge of the challenges facing working families, small businesses, farmers, and rural communities\u201d<\/p>\n
Since being elected to the Assembly, the campaign said, Tauge has built a reputation as a strong advocate for Upstate New York and a leading voice on agriculture, infrastructure, public safety, and fiscal responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Ranking Member of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, he has championed New York\u2019s farming community, fought to preserve farmland, and worked to strengthen the state\u2019s agricultural economy,\u201d the campaign said. \u201cHis effectiveness in Albany has earned statewide recognition, including being named one of New York\u2019s most effective lawmakers by the Center for Effective Lawmaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has also been a vocal advocate for local roads and bridges, volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services personnel, law enforcement, veterans, and correction officers, according to the campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has consistently fought to lower costs, create economic opportunity, and ensure rural communities have a strong voice in state government,\u201d the campaign said.<\/p>\n
Michele Frazier<\/p>\n
Frazier grew up in Oneonta, where her family owned and operated a greenhouse company for more than 35 years. She is also a former member of the Oneonta City Council.<\/p>\n
![\"Frazier](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DFN-L-frazier-01.jpg\")
Frazier (Photo Provided)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people of rural New York deserve better than career politicians chasing titles and favors,\u201d Frazier has said in a statement. \u201cThey need a representative who listens, fights for them, and puts everyday people ahead of politics, ambition, and the insiders who\u2019ve failed us for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I see a problem, I don\u2019t wait around, I fight to fix it,\u201d Frazier added. \u201cRight now, our state and our country are being sold out: billionaires get handouts, families can\u2019t afford a home, and rural hospitals are closing their doors. I\u2019m ready to take on these rigged systems and get to work for the people on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frazier is running under the Democratic and Working Families party banner.<\/p>\n
In the 2024 race against Oberacker, Frazier lost by a vote of 91,282 to 62,485, according to the state Board of Elections.<\/p>\n
Frazier is a local realtor and teaches political science at SUNY Delhi. She is also the parent of two neurodivergent children.<\/p>\n
Among her legislative priorities is addressing the affordability crisis, including the housing crisis, so rural New York can be a place where people can afford to live, work, and raise a family. Her other legislative priorities include making sure rural communities have access to quality, reliable healthcare they can afford; increasing access to affordable, quality childcare so parents who want to work can work; and expanding crisis services to better address mental health needs, freeing up police and first responders to make communities safer, according to the statement.<\/p>\n
Frazier earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from the University of Chicago in law, letters, and society, a master\u2019s degree in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and a master\u2019s degree from American University in justice, law, and society. She also earned a law degree from Northeastern University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KINGSTON, N.Y. \u2014\u00a0 The race for the 51st state Senate seat features a current Republican assemblymember against a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[129393,4353,2659,85,267,129394,9,11,10,49,51,50,12,87,4941],"class_list":["post-345375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-51st-state-senate","tag-chris-tague","tag-election","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-michelle-frazier","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-ulster-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}