# Peter Oberacker **New York State Senator** (51st District) and founder of FormTech Solutions running in the 2026 Republican primary for [[NY-19-2026]] against Democratic freshman [[Josh Riley]]. **Trump-endorsed 2026-02-04** via [[Truth Social]] — Trump called him "incredible" and attacked Riley as a "Radical Left Extremist." Speaker [[Mike Johnson]] endorsed the same day. Added to NRCC's **MAGA Majority Program** in the first round of additions on **2026-03-17**. Oberacker is the establishment-and-MAGA-aligned primary front-runner; his only primary complication is outsider challenger [[Alexander Portelli]]'s **signature-fraud ballot-access crisis** (NYSBOE final certification deadline **2026-04-29**). ## 2026 cycle - **Primary date**: 2026-06-23 (NY primary) - **Opponent landscape**: If Portelli's signatures fail (387 already invalidated of 1,120 challenged), Oberacker walks to the primary unopposed with Trump / Speaker Johnson / NRCC backing. If Portelli survives, the primary becomes a Trump-loyalist vs. MAGA-insurgent test in Southern Tier rural counties. - **Prior two-cycle opponent**: [[Marc Molinaro]] (lost 2024 to Riley) is **not running** — briefly served as Federal Transit Administrator and announced a run for NY State Assembly District 102 on 2026-02-23/27 - **Fundraising (Q1 2026)**: TBD as of 2026-04-23; FEC reports propagating - **Riley ran $3.129M through year-end 2025**; NY-19 rated Cook Lean D / Sabato Leans D / Inside Elections Leans D; PVI D+1 ## Background - NY State Senator, 51st District — suburban/rural Southern Tier/Mohawk Valley constituency - Founder, FormTech Solutions (manufacturing / industrial-solutions business — NEEDS VERIFICATION on specifics) - Prior elected or business-community roles — NEEDS VERIFICATION - No prior federal-office run ## Ideological positioning - MAGA-aligned Republican; Trump and Speaker endorsement signal full alignment with [[Trump White House]] priorities - NRCC MAGA Majority Program inclusion = coordinated-spending + candidate-services investment from the national party - The Trump endorsement cleared the lane for him over Portelli — the pattern Trump has used in primary-challenger contests where he wants to elevate an establishment R over an insurgent ## Related - [[NY-19-2026]] — 2026 race file - [[Josh Riley]] — Democratic incumbent (stub TBD) - [[Alexander Portelli]] — outsider R primary challenger - [[Marc Molinaro]] — prior nominee now running state-level - [[Donald Trump]] — endorser - [[Mike Johnson]] — endorser ## Sources - [Ballotpedia — Peter Oberacker](https://ballotpedia.org/Peter_Oberacker) - [WBNG — Trump endorses Oberacker (2026-02-05)](https://www.wbng.com/2026/02/05/president-trump-endorses-peter-oberacker-ny-19-congressional-district/) - [NRCC — Oberacker MAGA Majority Program (2026-03-17)](https://www.nrcc.org/2026/03/17/nrcc-announces-peter-oberacker-to-first-round-of-additions-to-maga-majority-program/)