By Madeline Shannon
The Center Square

In California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s final State of the State address Thursday, the potential presidential candidate positioned himself as an alternative to what he described as “purposeful chaos” in Washington, D.C.

“In Washington, the president believes that might makes right, that democracy is a nuisance to be circumvented.” the San Francisco native said before a joint session of the Legislature in Sacramento. “Purposeful chaos is emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.”

Newsom’s State of the State address follows a November interview with CBS Sunday Morning in which he said he would consider a presidential run after the 2026 midterm elections in November. However, some believe the governor’s speech at the Capitol was meant to position him to campaign.

“I think it was more of a campaign speech than a State of the State speech,” Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, told The Center Square. “He wants to launch his campaign for president, and he doesn’t have a great record, so he’s trying to put lipstick on that pig.”

Among the issues Newsom addressed in his speech were the 52 lawsuits filed against the federal government by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the state’s economy, artificial intelligence, education, labor, law enforcement, firefighters and the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.

But he also addressed concerns about the state’s tax policy.

“We built one of the most progressive tax systems in the nation,” Newsom said during the speech. “One that asks high-income residents to pay a little bit more without punishing those who are making a little bit less.”

He also addressed California’s budgetary challenges starting this year, which the Legislative Analyst’s Office projected in November would result in an $18 billion shortfall for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The deficit is caused by obligations to pay for school and community college funding mandated by Proposition 98, which California voters passed in 1988, and debt and reserve deposit requirements, according to previous reporting by The Center Square.

The state’s budget woes are expected despite $11 billion in revenue gain made in the last year, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office report. The governor’s proposed budget will be announced in a press conference Friday in Sacramento.

“[We are] mindful, as we should be, of the nature of our state budget and the longterm structural challenges,” Newsom told legislators during his speech. “We’re going to rebuild our reserves, $7.3 billion, pay down our longterm pensions, and of those obligations, over $11.8 billion will be met in the next few years, including $3 billion just in next year’s budget.”

A Democratic legislator who spoke to The Center Square on Thursday said Newsom’s speech illustrated that California is still a strong, resilient state with a competitive economy.

“Overall, I was pleased he was able to dispel some of the myths people have been putting out about California,” Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Stockton, said at the Capitol. “He did a good job of reminding us that California is strong and California is resilient, and people are not flocking to leave California. There are still people coming here, we’re still innovative, and I thought he did a good job of showing the strength of California and why we are still one of the largest economies.”

But Ransom said she was surprised Newsom didn’t address the fentanyl crisis. According to CalMatters, it killed 5,942 people between September 2021 and September 2022 alone.

Republican reactions to Newsom’s speech included concerns that he was taking credit for actions he didn’t take and that he was reusing a speech he gave more than a decade ago.

“I believe Gov. Newsom was gaslighting the legislature,” Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, told The Center Square. “There was nothing we heard today that really showed how California is actually leading the nation other than monumental failures. The only areas that actually have been doing better are not because of the governor’s policies.”