Hochul, who had an approval rating of 39% in a December Siena College poll, plans to run for another term in 2026, but she could face tough competition from the Republican Party and even foes from within her own party to keep her job.

In the 2024 election, the economy was listed as the top issue facing the country by 39% of voters, according to AP VoteCast, and on Tuesday, Hochul made the cost of living and economic matters a key focus of her annual address from Albany.

“My fellow New Yorkers, as we reflect on the state of our great state, the Empire State, two things are very clear to me. Our future depends on the ability of every family to afford the essentials of life and our ability to protect the safety and security of our residents. But we will not achieve these goals without a fight,” Hochul said. “So my commitment to every New Yorker is this: Your family is my fight. That has been the inspiration and impetus for everything we have done for the last three years.”

Focus on cost of living

The governor outlined efforts she hopes to push to combat rising costs, including a “middle-class income tax cut,” which she claims would help 8.3 million taxpayers in the state making less than $323,000 annually, expanding the child tax credit, and “inflation refund checks.”

The Empire State governor also outlined a desire to build more homes, hoping to halt increasing housing costs.

“Housing is the No. 1 driver of our affordability crisis. And the only way to decrease housing costs is to increase supply. We need to build, and build, and build some more,” Hochul said, discussing her programs to build more houses.

The issues of homelessness and crime

Homelessness and crime were other key matters on which Hochul focused. She outlined efforts aimed at helping homeless people get off the streets by updating involuntary commitment laws, saying, “We cannot allow our subway to be a rolling homeless shelter.”

The New York governor also centered on the New York City subway, which has made negative national headlines over crimes, when discussing her desire to combat “crime and the fear of crime.” Hochul announced an effort to put law enforcement on every subway train during the overnight hours for the next six months.

“I want to see uniformed police on the platforms, but more importantly, we will put an officer on every single train, overnight, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., over the next six months, and the state will support these efforts financially,” Hochul said.

“The physical infrastructure must be made safer as well. At my direction, the MTA will be installing even more barriers in 100 additional stations along with bright LED lighting in every station by the end of this year. And the shameless fare evaders will finally be stopped with modernized gates. This will not only make the subway less chaotic, it will help strengthen the financial footing of the MTA,” she added.

Other initiatives Hochul pushed during her address included making community college free for those ages 25-55 who “enter high-demand fields like advanced manufacturing, education and healthcare.”

“So even as we continue to focus on the many New Yorkers who need help, let us resolve today to take on the problems with a heart and soul filled with optimism and a faith in our future,” Hochul said.

Problems persist for Hochul

While Hochul offered an optimistic outlook for the future of the Empire State with her speech, the December Siena College poll found that only 33% said they wanted to reelect Hochul and 57% said they wanted someone else to be elected in 2026.

Some of Hochul’s potential opponents criticized her address, including Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who has toyed with running for governor but has not announced if he will.

He took aim at Hochul’s plan to have law enforcement in subway cars during overnight hours, questioning why she would not also do that for the daytime.

“Debrina Kawam was barbarically burned alive not overnight but in the morning. Governor Hochul might have been too busy taking self-congratulatory subway selfies to notice,” Torres said in a post on X.

Torres also knocked Hochul for not mentioning antisemitism, noting recent high rates of antisemitism in New York, and for not failing to “even acknowledge the victims of crimes.”

New York is the only state that prohibits judges from considering the public safety risk of violent repeat offenders when setting bail. Yet the Governor’s State of the State makes no commitment to closing the most dangerous and deadly loophole in the criminal justice system.…

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) January 14, 2025

“No mention of Caleb Rios, a 14-year old stabbed to death by a violent repeat offender. No mention of Ray Hodges, a postal worker stabbed to death by a violent repeat offender. No mention of Joseph Lyndsey, a straphanger shoved in front of an incoming subway car by a violent repeat offender,” Torres said in a post on X, adding other cases of crime that took place in New York.

“The senseless suffering of these victims is the product of a broken system that the Governor refuses to fix,” he concluded.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who has also hinted at a run but not announced a bid for governor, slammed Hochul during a press conference with state Republicans ahead of her address in Albany.

“She is a feckless and failed governor who needs to be replaced in 2026,” Lawler said.