Democrat Michele Frazier, who narrowly lost a 2024 bid for the New York State Senate, announced earlier this year that she will again seek the 51st District seat in 2026. The district spans Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie and Sullivan counties, as well as portions of Broome, Chenango and Ulster counties.
Her announcement comes as the district’s current officeholder, Republican Sen. Peter Oberacker, signals he will pursue higher office. Oberacker announced he is running for Congress in New York’s 19th District - a seat held by Democratic Rep. Josh Riley, who defeated Republican incumbent Marc Molinaro in 2024.
Frazier, who lives in Delhi and previously served on the Oneonta Common Council, framed her candidacy as a contrast to what she called political opportunism in Albany.
“I welcome Chris Tague to the race for State Senate District 51 and the opportunity to compare our records in public service — mine of leadership in service of the people versus his of hyperpartisanship in service of his own political ambition,” Frazier said, referring to Republican Assembly Member Chris Tague, who has also entered the race.
Frazier cited her tenure on the Oneonta City Council as evidence of bipartisan collaboration, pointing to projects such as expanding summer programming for children, creating a community dog park, increasing municipal energy efficiency, and making city parks smoke-free.
“In contrast,” she said, “during his seven years serving in the State Assembly, the only bills Mr. Tague has passed are commemorative or memorializing.” She criticized other measures Tague sponsored as “tax giveaways to corporations which starve our schools and communities,” protections for Tesla “to line the pockets of out-of-state big oil companies,” and legislation that “override[s] protections for families and children by giving potential abusers shared custody.”
“We’re all better off because Chris Tague is an ineffective legislator in the Assembly,” she said. “We cannot afford to have him representing us in the State Senate.”
Frazier’s campaign portrays her as a pragmatic Democrat shaped by rural experience. She grew up in Oneonta, where her family operated a greenhouse business for more than 35 years. She now works as a real estate agent, teaches political science at the college level, and is the parent of two neurodivergent children.
“The people of rural New York deserve better than career politicians chasing titles and favors,” Frazier said in her statement. “They need a representative who listens, fights for them, and puts everyday people ahead of politics, ambition and the insiders who’ve failed us for too long.”
She added: “Right now, our state and our country are being sold out: billionaires get handouts, families can’t afford a home, and rural hospitals are closing their doors. I’m ready to take on these rigged systems and get to work for the people on day one.”
Frazier enters the race with early fundraising capacity. After raising nearly $500,000 during her 2024 challenge, she begins the 2026 cycle with close to $20,000 cash on hand, according to her campaign. In 2024, she won endorsements from the Working Families Party, the Public Employees Federation, UAW, Planned Parenthood, SEIU, the New York State Nurses Association and other labor and advocacy groups.
Her stated priorities for 2026 include tackling the region’s worsening housing shortage, expanding affordable childcare, improving access to rural health care, and increasing crisis-response services to ease the burden on police and first responders — initiatives she says are essential to ensuring rural New Yorkers can “live, work and raise a family” in the communities they call home.
