Jewish Voter Guide
Peter Oberacker
U.S. House · NY · Republican · District 19
Summary
A New York state senator since 2021, Oberacker is the Republican challenger to Democratic Representative Josh Riley in New York's 19th District. He has an affirmative record of working against antisemitism at the state level, but he also faced a controversy in his House campaign over a resurfaced 2015 social media post in which he saluted his grandfather, who had served in the German military under the Nazi regime. Oberacker defends the post as a family war memorial.
The record
Positions come from public votes, statements and on-the-record interviews. Every claim links to its source. No aggregate score or grade.
Record on combating antisemitism
In October 2025 he rescinded his offer to someone who he had hired to manage his congressional campaign and had run his 2020 state Senate race, after Politico reported that the person had taken part in a Young Republicans group chat containing racist and antisemitic messages.
The 2015 post honoring his grandfather
In August 2026 a 2015 Veterans Day post of Oberacker's resurfaced. In it he had shared a photograph of his grandfather, Ludwig Oberacker, in a German military uniform bearing Nazi insignia, writing that he saluted all who had served. Oberacker defended the post, explaining that his grandfather had been conscripted, had no choice, and was killed at the Battle of the Bulge, and that his own father grew up without a father because of the war; he said he had meant to honor veterans of all conflicts. He had since deleted it.
Sources
- Record on combating antisemitism — Hudson Valley One, the antisemitism working group and his rescinding of Bobby Walker's role after the Young Republicans chat report https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2026/08/27/gop-house-candidate-peter-oberacker-faces-backlash-over-resurfaced-2015-post-honoring-nazi-grandfather/
- The 2015 post honoring his grandfather — Hudson Valley One, the details of the post and Oberacker's explanation about his conscripted grandfather killed at the Battle of the Bulge https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2026/08/27/gop-house-candidate-peter-oberacker-faces-backlash-over-resurfaced-2015-post-honoring-nazi-grandfather/
- The 2015 post honoring his grandfather — Criticism of the post: https://www.dailygazette.com/hv360/news/oberacker-post-saluting-nazi-resurfaces-as-race-heats-up/article_31e05ad4-57fa-422d-a8c6-dc6366780772.html
A note on methodology. This guide is published as an educational reference. The American Jewish Congress does not endorse candidates and does not publish aggregate scores. If you spot a position that needs an update or a better source, please reach the office.