Hochul Doubles Down On Affordability As She Faces Tricky Election Year

ALBANY, New York — Utility bills. Groceries. Child care. Car insurance. Tariffs.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2026 agenda, laid out Tuesday in her State of the State address, is aimed at addressing a basket of cost-of-living woes facing New Yorkers as she prepares to run for a second full term this year.

Hochul wants cash for Empire State farmers struggling under President Donald Trump’s tariff regime. She has locked arms with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to back an expansive free child care plan. And she is taking aim at the paychecks of power company executives, requiring them to disclose how their salaries compare to the average worker.

“Affordability isn’t a statistic. It’s a balancing act,” Hochul wrote in a briefing book made available prior to the afternoon address. “Every day, New Yorkers have to contend with how much things cost: our rent, our bills, our groceries, our basics. When tariffs and taxes go up, we struggle.”

Taken together, the measures are a mix of populist efforts to tackle affordability while also pushing back against Trump’s aggressive policies on immigration. The governor will ride that combination into a reelection bid against Democratic primary foe Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, and her likely Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. Recent polls have shown she is handily leading both men.

The stakes for Hochul are intertwined with Democrats nationally. Her party needs the governor to be a strong top of the ticket this November in order to boost House candidates running down ballot. The Empire State includes several swing seats that may determine control of the closely divided chamber.

The moderate Democratic governor is facing an unusual political climate in this deep blue state. Mamdani, a global celebrity following his election campaign with a singular focus on affordability, is an inexperienced manager and far-left lightning rod, especially for Jewish and suburban voters. Trump, a temperamental president who speaks frequently with Hochul, has shown an unrestrained desire to meddle in the affairs of Democratic-led states, including slashing federal funding and attacking major infrastructure projects.

Hochul must manage these competing forces at the local and federal level with an eye toward her own reelection.

She is being prodded by left-leaning advocates to hike taxes on wealthy New Yorkers in order to fund Mamdani’s costly agenda, which also includes free bus service. She does not want to alienate business allies who have supported her since taking office in 2021 or the ardent base built by Mamdani during his successful campaign.

Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the left-of-center Working Families Party, said her organization will dangle its ballot line in the coming months to push the governor on tax hikes.

“New Yorkers are hurting, and you can’t say we have enough money when the ultra rich are thriving like never before,” Gripper said. “Even the governor would like to be the WFP-endorsed candidate. We're going to leverage our process to hold people accountable.”

On the right, Republicans are pointing to New York’s high taxes and — according to business organizations — a poor private sector climate that has stifled investment. The state’s population has stagnated for more than a generation, and New York stands to lose another House seat in the next Census. (The governor on Tuesday will call for a robust 2030 Census effort in the state.)

"New York under Kathy Hochul and one-party Democrat rule has led the nation in out-migration as the least affordable, most taxed, least free state in America,” New York GOP Chair Ed Cox said. “New Yorkers want real, lasting solutions to this crisis and a governor with the backbone to stand up for taxpayers and against socialist extremists like Zohran Mamdani.”