'Affordability politics' are dominating NY's gubernatorial race. How are Blakeman and Hochul approaching it?

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican candidate for governor, says he'll "Make New York Affordable," a nod to President Donald Trump's famous brand. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul, the incumbent Democrat, uses the slogan "Money in Your Pockets" to reflect her efforts to address everyday cost issues. 

Blakeman is gathering signatures so he can run on a new statewide ballot line called "Vote Affordable." Hochul touted an "affordability agenda" in the recently passed state budget.

The two candidates for governor are increasingly focused on convincing voters they are best suited to stem rising housing costs, utility and tax bills, child care expenses and insurance premiums, as so-called "affordability politics" dominate the race in historically unaffordable New York, political experts say.

The approaches are different, and somewhat emblematic of the political parties they represent: Democrats say government should provide relief while Republicans say government should cost taxpayers less. Whether either side provides meaningful action toward bringing down household bills is another question, experts say.

"It's really almost a textbook example of the fundamental differences that still exist between Republicans and Democrats when it comes to thinking about and proposing things regarding economic issues," said Grant Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University. "The 'affordability' tag has been put on this, but I think you can just substitute [that with] 'what are the two parties' approaches toward the economy?'"

Reeher, who has been watching both the Hochul and Blakeman campaigns to discuss the race in class with his students, said the messaging "would look familiar to a voter 50 years ago," a period — the mid-1970s — of much higher inflation when candidate proposals looked similar. 

'Affordability politics' 

Donald Nieman, a history professor and provost emeritus at Binghamton University who has written about polarization in U.S. politics, said he believes "affordability" is the watchword of the moment thanks in part to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's campaign last fall and a post-pandemic inflationary period. 

"It's a buzzword because it's caught on, but it's caught on because it resonates with people," Nieman said. "We are a consumer society and consumption both drives our economy and defines our lives. And so, in a sense, there's never enough money, right?"

Nieman says "affordability really became a thing in the 1970s." He says the American voter hasn't gone through a period of significant inflation for decades "but it wasn't just inflation, it was post-COVID shortages of just about everything — workers, cars, you name it — and that cut into the consumption lifestyle." 

According to the Brookings Institute, a public policy nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., affordability will continue to be the key issue in the 2026 midterm elections. 

Even as hourly wages have risen since the pandemic, they haven't kept up with the main drivers of household expenses "and most Americans feel that they are at best running in place," according to a March Brookings report. Another piece, a week earlier, noted that "rising electricity rates have emerged as a centerpiece of the 2026 'affordability' crisis, with some regions seeing annual increases of more than 25%." 

In April, 66% of U.S. adults said inflation is a very big problem facing the nation, up from 63% last year, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. The same survey also found Americans are less likely to see illegal immigration as a very big problem for the country than they were at the start of Trump’s second term.

Incumbent vs. challenger

Hochul, who is finishing her sixth year in office as she nears the end of her first elected full term, is defending her record while Blakeman is attacking it. 

Not only does she have a war chest of $20 million to spend on her campaign, she has the ability to tout funding initiatives such as energy rebates, free school lunch, childcare subsidy expansion, reforms that could lead to an increase in housing units and reduction in car insurance rates. 

In announcing her energy package last month in Albany, Hochul blamed Trump and the war in Iran for rising fuel costs, repeating her recent  mantra: "Your family is my fight."  

“I've lived through this experience. It is exasperating when you're trying to get ahead, and it just feels like the bills just keep piling up. And one of the great challenges I mentioned was the soaring utility costs. And the Trump administration is making it so much worse.”

Blakeman, while lesser known outside of Nassau County, has an opportunity to shift the blame onto Hochul and state Democrats for causing the financial burdens of middle-class families and their employers through overspending and taxing. But Blakeman's loyalty to Trump and support of trade tariffs that have driven up the price of goods will be a liability, experts say. 

Blakeman also has sided with Trump on the U.S. strikes in Iran and was opposed to legislation suspending the county portion of a tax on gasoline and diesel fuel proposed by Democrats who are in the minority on the county legislature.  

"Every month, New Yorkers open their bills and ask the same question: How much more will it cost this time?" Blakeman wrote last week on his campaign Facebook page. "As governor, I will cut utility bills in half, deliver the largest middle-class tax cut in New York history and put taxpayers first again."

Cost of housing

Included in the recently enacted $268 billion state budget for 2026-27, Hochul signed a bill package that includes reforms to the state's environmental review process, commonly known as SEQRA, aimed at fast-tracking the construction of new housing developments, adding stock that could help stem rising housing costs. 

Blakeman's platform, however, focuses on preserving local zoning laws, and he has pushed back against high-density housing, a core tenet of Republicans in Nassau County who have a long history of opposing the construction of multiunit dwellings. He has also opposed Hochul's new tax on second homes valued at more than $5 million, which she says will provide the state $500 million in revenue. 

Blakeman has aggressively criticized the governor on energy costs even as she's approved utility rebate checks for most households. His "Affordability Mandate" plan for his first 100 days, if he is elected governor, includes proposals that would provide $2.4 billion in one-time rebates. He also supports natural gas extraction or fracking and nuclear power, which would need the approval of the legislature's likely Democratic majority.

Ken Girardin, a fellow with the libertarian Manhattan Institute, says neither candidate has a plan that goes far enough. "Neither candidate has a credible plan to meaningfully decrease prices," he said.   

Girardin said Hochul's strategy has centered on new and larger subsidies for residents to help them pay bills but not lower costs, with the exception of her auto reforms, which could decrease lawsuits and provide more industry oversight.

And Blakeman has broadly proposed major tax cuts, regulatory changes and shrinking the size of state government, without a detailed plan to implement them for short-term consumer relief. Blakeman's appearing to side with Long Island Rail Road workers in recent contract talks doesn't bode well for his claims of belt-tightening in government, Girardin said. 

Girardin says lowering costs for the average family would take a bunch of programs and policies that could address the crisis New Yorkers are grumbling about — not one sweeping budget bill or tax cut.

"Albany doesn't have an affordability lever that the governor is refusing to pull. Albany does have a thousand little buttons that make costs go up and right now those buttons are getting pressed quite a bit," he said.

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.