NY Gov. Hochul on Edge as She Prepares for 2026 Election

With over a year to go before her next election, Gov. Kathy Hochul appears increasingly desperate and ineffective.

The most recent indication of this is her decision to deploy an additional 250 National Guard troops to enhance subway safety during the Christmas shopping season and possibly beyond.

However, it’s important to note that the guardsmen are limited in their responsibilities, primarily authorized to check bags rather than performing actual law enforcement.

Sorry, but they won’t be able to remove that unruly individual from the platform.

Still, the total of 1,000 guards is claimed to provide a “sense of security” by the governor. Merry Christmas!

This is at least less insulting than her assertion that she’s saving us money by instituting congestion-pricing tolls of “only” $9, instead of the initially proposed $15.

Furthermore, let’s not overlook that the plan includes future toll increases to $12 by 2028 and $15 by 2031.

These hikes could actually happen sooner and be greater: the one major drawback of EZPass is that it renders toll increases nearly invisible.

Even worse are her feeble $500 “Inflation Reduction” refund checks, which at this point is only a $3 billion proposal for the upcoming state budget, still months away.

Despite this, she continues to play the part with recent visits to Co-op City in The Bronx, the Queens Mall, and a supermarket upstate for photo opportunities to promote her giveaway — which is merely a return of a portion of our own money, and hardly offsets a third of the burden of the “congestion” toll.

The reality is that the governor is already facing significant challenges ahead of the 2026 elections from Reps. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from the Bronx, and Mike Lawler, a Republican from Hudson Valley.

Even Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, her selected No. 2, is busy elevating his profile with ambitions for some higher office.

Regrettably, weak gimmicks aren’t the only strategy the overly cautious governor is employing to strengthen her position: she is also stepping back from sensible reforms.

To gain favor with suburban voters and teachers unions, Hochul has reversed her stance on cutting funding for dwindling school districts, despite a Rockefeller Institute report she commissioned highlighting the significant waste involved.

All of a sudden, Hochul is on board with the “hold harmless” provision that mandates Albany to continue funding “ghost” students — meaning districts still receive funding even as enrollment declines — effectively guaranteeing employment for teachers and administrators.

Again, it’s nearly two years before the next gubernatorial election, yet Hochul is already struggling.

The concern is shifting from whether she can retain her position to how much damage she may inflict during the remainder of her term.