THE INFORMATION ADVANTAGE REPORT
With a multibillion dollar budget deficit, simmering ideological and political battles, and continued turbulence from Washington, New York is heading into a pivotal legislative session.
Inside Albany: The Information Advantage Report analyzes official and personal/campaign X (Twitter) accounts of the Governor and members of the State Senate and Assembly. The first in a new series from Marathon Strategies, it provides organizations with a data-driven view of the issues dominating lawmakers’ conversations, insight into who is shaping those discussions, and a look at how these dynamics may influence the 2026 legislative session.
Marathon Strategies believes communications should be driven by evidence, not assumptions.
This report offers just a glimpse of the Information Advantage we deliver – helping your campaigns reach the stakeholders who matter and resonate where it counts.
Connect with us to learn how an information-backed strategy can give you the edge to shape policy debates in Albany and beyond.
Reading Between the Tweets: What Social Analysis Reveals About Albany’s Priorities
An analysis of lawmakers’ X (Twitter) activity from January 1 through October 28 reveals which issues dominate the conversation in Albany – and how sharply priorities diverge along party lines.
Democrats concentrate their attention on housing, education, and healthcare, followed by transportation, taxes, and public safety.
NY State Assembly – Democrats
January 1, 2025 – October 28, 2025
NY State Senate – Democrats
January 1, 2025 – October 28, 2025
Republicans, by contrast, lead with public safety, taxes, and transportation, with education, energy/environment, and healthcare rounding out their top priorities.
NY State Assembly – Republicans
January 1, 2025 – October 28, 2025
NY State Senate – Republicans
January 1, 2025 – October 28, 2025
KEY OBSERVATIONS
Healthcare as a Wedge:
Among Assembly Democrats, healthcare ranks as the third-most mentioned topic; yet it drops to sixth among Republicans.
A House Divided:
Housing dominates conversation for Assembly Democrats, emerging as their top issue; for Republicans, it’s ranked seventh.
Tax Talk:
For Senate Republicans, tax is the most discussed issue, one that falls to fifth place for Senate Democrats.
AI Afterthought:
Despite New York leading the nation in introducing legislation to guide and regulate artificial intelligence, both parties remain largely quiet online on this issue.
In New York state politics, intraparty dynamics can be as consequential as partisan divides. Marathon takes this analysis deeper for clients – examining differences within caucuses, mapping shifts in messaging between upstate and downstate lawmakers, and uncovering how ideological factions, geography, and leadership influence narrative trends across the Legislature.
Zooming Out: How Trump’s Agenda is Moving Lawmaker Conversations
Federal fiscal policy is reshaping the volume and direction of conversation among New York lawmakers – putting healthcare and tax policy on parallel tracks.
When President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, sweeping federal spending cuts – particularly to healthcare programs – helped fuel a projected “multibillion dollar state budget gap. In the weeks leading up to the bill’s passage, the volume of posts referencing healthcare increased sharply, reflecting heightened concern about the bill’s implications for New Yorkers.
Following the bill’s passage, attention shifted toward how the state might fill the fiscal gap. As lawmakers began discussing new revenue measures and tax reforms, the volume of conversation around healthcare and tax issues began to move in parallel – apart from a spike in healthcare-related conversations coming from the Senate as a result of the government shutdown – suggesting that fiscal and social policy have become increasingly intertwined in Albany’s political discourse.
NY State Assembly
January 1, 2025 – October 28, 2025
NY State Senate
January 1, 2025 – October 28, 2025
Tax Talk: How Lawmakers Frame the Revenue Debate
Analysis of social posts referencing “tax” conversations reveals contrasting tones between the Assembly and Senate.
Taxes remain a defining issue as lawmakers confront how to close New York’s budget gap. But while both chambers are discussing the topic, their emphasis differs.
In the Assembly, posts referencing taxes often focus on people and community – using language centered on working families, New Yorkers, and affordability.
By contrast, Senate discussions lean toward policy and fiscal mechanics, emphasizing tax credits, spending, and state programs.
This divergence underscores how even within the same policy area, tone and framing differ by chamber – a nuance that can shape how proposals gain traction in Albany’s broader political conversation.
Word Cloud around State Assembly Member Conversations around Tax Issues
Word Cloud around State Senate Member Conversations around Tax Issues
QUICK HIT INSIGHTS
A CLOSER LOOK: GOVERNOR HOCHUL
The year ahead will be pivotal for Governor Kathy Hochul, who faces reelection amid a projected multibillion-dollar budget gap, an increasingly assertive progressive bloc pushing for higher taxes, and a federal government at odds with her policy agenda. Navigating these pressures while maintaining broad support across New York will define her political trajectory in 2026.
Data from Hochul’s official and campaign X (Twitter) accounts offers insight into how she’s framing her message. Hochul’s posts most frequently reference healthcare, taxes, and public safety, followed by education and transportation – issues central to both the state’s fiscal health and everyday life for New Yorkers.
Governor Hochul’s Top Issues
January 1, 2025 – October 28, 2025
Mapping Hochul’s Information Network
In Albany, the path to progress still runs through three people: the Governor, the Assembly Speaker, and the Senate Majority Leader.
Understanding how influence moves among these figures – and who shapes their thinking – is essential for anyone seeking to advance an agenda in New York.
Hochul’s online interactions provide a glimpse into her information ecosystem: the journalists, outlets, and stakeholders most likely to capture her attention.
Influencers she most often engages with on X include:
National Media Voices:
- Lawrence O’Donnell, MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell”
- Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show”
- Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
New York City Reporters:
- Errol Louis, NY1’s “Inside City Hall”
- Cheryl Wills, NY1
- Nolan Hicks, Streetsblog New York City
Albany Journalists:
- Jon Campbell, WNYC/Gothamist
- Nick Reisman, POLITICO New York
- Bernadette Hogan, NY1
Beyond media, her most frequent institutional interactions include the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, the New York State Police, and the state Department of Transportation – agencies ties to some of her top policy topics mentioned on X.
And for the record, the Buffalo Bills’ official account still ranks among her top engagements (#6) – proof that some allegiances transcend politics.
Marathon’s Information Advantage framework helps clients move from understanding the conversation to shaping it. Reach out to learn how we can help your organization do the same — in Albany and beyond.
info@marathonstrategies.com
