CHENANGO – New York State Senator Fred Akshar has officially announced his candidacy for re-election, giving him a shot at winning a full two-year term in November.

Akshar, a Republican, won his Senate seat with 79 percent of the vote in a special election in 2015. In Chenango County, he claimed 83 percent of the vote.

Akshar entered the race following the departure of former Republican Senator Thomas Libous, who was forced to resign the position last year upon a felony conviction of lying to the FBI. Libous, who died in May after a seven-year battle with cancer, had held the 52nd District state Senate seat for 26 years.

Prior to his election, Akshar was a 15-year law enforcement veteran and serving as Undersheriff for Broome County.

“We hit the ground running the morning after election night and haven’t stopped since,” Akshar said when announcing his candidacy in front of a crowd of hundreds of supporters at Chenango Valley State Park on Thursday. “We’ve kept a relentless pace, being a loud and energetic voice for the Southern Tier in Albany, and visited every town in the district to listen to the people I represent.”