Tague won’t run for Seward seat in state Senate
State Assemblyman Chris Tague says he won’t run for the 51st Senate District seat being vacated by fellow Republican James Seward.
“After much consideration and reflection with my wife, family and close friends, I have decided not to pursue a run for the state Senate,” Tague, R-Schoharie, said in a prepared statement. “... I am incredibly honored and humbled to have been approached and encouraged by so [by] many respected members of our region to consider succeeding a legend like Sen. Seward.”
Seward, R-Milford, announced earlier this month that he’ll step down at the end of 2020 after serving 17 two-year terms in the state Senate. Seward has been battling bladder cancer, and cited the illness in announcing his decision not to seek re-election.
The only candidate for the 51st Senate District seat so far is Democrat Jim Barber, a farmer who lives in Middleburgh.
The 51st District stretches from Ulster County west to Tompkins County and north to Herkimer County. In Ulster County, it includes the towns of Rochester, Olive, Shandaken and Hardenburgh.
Tague represents the 102nd Assembly District, which includes all of Greene and Schoharie counties; parts of Otsego, Delaware, and Albany counties; and the towns of Saugerties in Ulster County and Stockport and Stuyvesant in Columbia County.
“I’m loyal to the residents of our Assembly district that have repeatedly placed their trust in me,” Tague said in his statement. “I hold that trust very dear. I have an obligation to my neighbors to finish working on the many projects currently in motion.”
Tague has served in the Assembly since winning an April 24, 2018, special election to replace Peter Lopez, R-Schoharie, who stepped down to become a regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Tague then won a full two-year term in November 2018.
Seward is the second Republican state senator representing parts of the MidHudson Valley to opt against seeking re-election this fall. In November 2019, threeterm incumbent George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, announced he will step down at the end of 2020. Amedore’s Senate district, the 46th, comprises part of Ulster County, all of Greene and Montgomery counties, and parts of Albany and Schenectady counties.
According to The Associated Press, Seward and Amedore are among nine GOP state senators in the 63-member chamber who are not seeking re-election this fall.