Good morning.

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At 29 minutes, the State of the State speech that Gov. Jerry Brown delivered Thursday — his 16th and his last — was longer than most. That was in no small part because Mr. Brown devoted considerable time to talking about the past, noting, for example, how California was struggling through a severe economic downturn when he arrived and was now thriving.

But this was no swan song. Mr. Brown, who in a recent interview resisted the notion that he was entering the lame-duck period of his tenure, used the address to set out two critical campaigns he is planning to wage that are likely to help define not only the next year in California politics but also influence the race to succeed him.

The first involves the 12-cent-a-gallon gas tax Democrats in the State Legislature muscled through last year to raise $5 billion a year for the state’s battered roads. Republicans see an opportunity to use it against Democrats: They are circulating petitions to put a voter initiative on the ballot to repeal the measure (and in the process, they hope, bring out an anti-Democratic vote that could protect congressional Republicans facing tough re-election battles.).

Mr. Brown made clear that he would do everything he could to battle any attempt to pull back the measure. “Fighting the gas tax may appear to be good politics, but it isn’t,” Mr. Brown said. “I will do everything in my power to defeat any repeal effort that gets on the ballot.” (Worth noting here: Mr. Brown’s success in winning approval for an income tax surcharge initiative in 2012.)