SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s big speech at Dodger Stadium was officially the annual State of the State address, but it doubled as an unofficial campaign kickoff as he stares down a likely recall election. The first-term Democratic governor shed his typical long-windedness and jargon Tuesday night for a crisp, 28-minute speech that looked to California’s future with optimism. He gave passing reference to the recall campaign by criticizing “partisan power grabs.” He spent the speech looking back on a year of the coronavirus in the nation’s most populated state while pledging the state was on the cusp of a new day.
