Gov. Kathy Hochul skirts election-year headaches in play-it-safe 2026 ‘State of the State’ address

She’s playing it safe.

Gov. Kathy Hochul looked poised to tap dance around thorny election-year issues in her 2026 “State of the State” address Tuesday, focusing instead on crowd-pleasing measures such as universal childcare.

The State of the State agenda released before Hochul’s speech in Albany largely avoids major public safety proposals — namely, reforms to the state’s controversial “Raise the Age” law — that could alienate newfound progressive allies such as Big Apple Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

The governor, however, avoided proposing new taxes on the wealthy that could alienate moderate and independent voters she will need to secure re-election in November — even as she adopted the “affordability” buzzword that vaulted Mamdani to victory and reinvigorated the Democratic Party.

“The 2026 State of the State agenda is grounded in a simple belief: government should make life more affordable, keep people safe, and expand opportunity—not shrink it,” Hochul’s agenda states.

“That starts with affordability—from a concrete roadmap for universal child care, to lowering energy bills, protecting consumers, and confronting the rising costs that hit working families hardest.”

The speech is Hochul’s fifth “State of the State” speech as governor — and will kick off a year in which the Democrat hopes to win re-election against a Republican Party eager to reclaim the Executive Mansion for the first time in two decades.

Hochul did provide red meat for a blue state electorate by directing fire at President Trump’s federal policies, specifically on immigration.

She proposed a law making it easier for New Yorkers to sue federal immigration authorities over alleged civil rights violations.

While the governor largely avoided hot-button public safety issues, she followed through on a $77 million promise to fund a surge of NYPD officers in the city’s subway system.

And Hochul also supported a proposed law creating protest “buffer zones” around houses of worship after anti-Israel demonstrators stoked outrage by targeting synagogues.

At least one affordability proposal in Hochul’s agenda directly cribbed from Trump: a call to end income taxes on tips up to $25,000.

“This proposal will deliver meaningful relief to tipped workers, strengthening their economic security and better valuing their contributions to our economy,” the agenda states.