Each January, governors in nearly all states stand before a joint meeting of the legislature and deliver what has become known as a State of the State address. These speeches, like the president's State of the Union address, are highly anticipated and choreographed events. The process of drafting the governor's comments begins weeks in advance, and debate within the administration over the content of the speech is spirited. For the governor, the State of the State not only kicks off the legislative session but is almost always her highest-profile speech of the year. This address receives front-page coverage in state newspapers, serves as the lead story on local news broadcasts, and is sometimes even carried live by local television stations. The State of the State is a crucial opportunity for the governor to speak directly to the lawmakers seated in front of her (whose votes will decide the fate of her legislative agenda) as well as to the voters and party activists who helped put her in office. Simply put, “the most precious rhetorical real estate of the year is a sentence in the State of the State address.”

These speeches are, of course, part political theater. Governors use the State of the State to highlight their political and legislative triumphs from the prior year and to praise the strength and character of their constituents. Like the State of the Union, these speeches are peppered with applause lines designed to bring lawmakers to their feet and to appeal to voters watching from home.