While many U.S. subnational actors have reciprocated PRC efforts to reconnect, a growing number of governors and state legislators have been proposing and enacting an unprecedented volume of substantive measures aimed at mitigating risks from PRC behavior, predominantly citing security concerns as justification, to fill a perceived policy vacuum.
This analysis series examines these latest efforts by presenting notable trends from three new datasets – 167 China-related excerpts identified in 941 state of the state addresses delivered by U.S. governors from 2005 to 2024, as well as 334 China-related measures introduced in 50 U.S. state legislatures in 2023 and over 270 China-related measures proposed in 43 U.S. state legislatures in 2024, systematically coded across 12 variables (including month introduced; status; sponsor partisanship; originating chamber passage vote partisanship; opposite chamber passage vote partisanship; impactfulness; sentiment; China specificity; primary subject, primary issue area(s), primary topic(s) addressed; and volume per state). The data, combined with illustrative examples of China-related campaign rhetoric employed by candidates in 13 U.S. gubernatorial races from 2022 to 2024 and discussions of dynamics behind these measures, such as drivers, correlations with federal actions, bilateral events, and among states, reveals the changing state of U.S. state government perspectives toward China.
From 2005 to 2019, U.S. governors largely portrayed China favorably in their state of the state addresses, focusing primarily on economic partnerships and educational exchanges. They highlighted new trade offices, celebrated investment and export deals – for example, Illinois’ Pat Quinn (D) claimed in 2012: “Illinois farmers are feeding China’s new middle class” – and recognized the importance of Chinese language learning opportunities. Some, such as California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and Hawaii’s Linda Lingle (R), expressed optimism about China’s rise as a global power.
Unfavorable mentions of China and/or the Chinese Communist Party began appearing prominently in 2022, when Republican governors of five states – Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, and Tennessee – made such references while discussing abortion, supply chain security, cybersecurity, and intellectual property issues. For example, Tate Reeves (R) of Mississippi said: “There is no excuse for America’s abortion laws to be closer to the Chinese communists than the rest of the Western world.”
In 2023, nine governors – eight Republicans from Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, Texas, South Dakota, and one Democrat from Michigan – referenced China, the Chinese Communist Party, and/or the CCP while discussing supply chain security, fentanyl, foreign influence, foreign land purchases, and TikTok. Among them, Kristi Noem (R) of South Dakota said that her executive order banning TikTok “began an important movement” followed by over 20 states and Congress. She also highlighted current efforts to advance legislation that would establish the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States – South Dakota and prohibit PRC purchase of state agricultural land, noting, “Other states are already looking at our legislation with plans to replicate it.” Bill Lee (R) of Tennessee stressed the importance for the state “to have a voice in national security when the safety of Tennesseans is at stake.”
In 2024, 11 governors – including eight Republicans from Florida, Idaho, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, as well as three Democrats from New Jersey, Michigan, and Connecticut – mentioned China and/or the Chinese Communist Party in their addresses. Some noted China-related accomplishments from the 2023 legislative session, some laid out 2024’s legislative agendas to counter the PRC, while others referenced China when discussing TikTok, foreign land purchases, supply chain security, and AI development. For example, Kim Reynolds (R) of Iowa said: “Iowa has some of the strongest laws in the country on foreign ownership of land – in fact, other states have looked to us as a model for their own policies. But as China’s threat adapts, our laws should too.”
Notably, for the first time, Arizona governor Katie Hobbs (D) referenced Taiwan 13 times, including highlighting her meeting with Taiwan’s then-President Tsai Ing-wen and the opening of the Arizona-Taiwan Trade and Investment Office, during her International State of the State address delivered in March 2024, which placed significant emphasis on semiconductor development. She did not mention China in her remarks.
Just as China began to figure more prominently – and negatively – in state of the state address, the “China threat” gained salience in U.S. gubernatorial campaign rhetoric from 2022 to 2024.
During the 2022 midterm gubernatorial elections, while China was not among the top issues voters were concerned about, candidates in at least six states (including Florida, Arizona, Nebraska, New York, Michigan, and Georgia) incorporated China-related topics such as land purchases, foreign influence, fentanyl, and the spy balloon incident, into their campaign narratives.
For example, in Georgia, incumbent Brian Kemp (R) accused MAGA Republican David Perdue of outsourcing state jobs to China in a campaign ad released less than two months before the GOP primary. Subsequently during the rematch, Democrat Stacey Abrams criticized Kemp for allowing PRC farmland purchases and neglecting WeChat-related information security concerns. Abrams emphasized these talking points in multiple forums, including an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, a social media post, and their first gubernatorial debate. University of Georgia political scientist Audrey Haynes described Abrams’ rhetoric as an appeal to MAGA-leaning rural voters.
Kemp’s campaign didn’t directly respond but instead highlighted Georgia’s economic growth under his leadership. Kemp also cited SB 346, a bill he signed in May 2022 that prohibits state contracts with Chinese state-owned companies, as evidence of his support for “the brave people” of Taiwan and stance against the CCP.
During the 2023 gubernatorial elections in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Mississippi, China-related issues were highlighted in the latter two states. Mississippi Republican incumbent Tate Reeves criticized Democratic challenger Brandon Presley for accepting $10,000 in campaign donations from a Chinese business executive. In April 2023, while signing two bills prohibiting acquisition of unmanned aircraft manufactured by foreign entities (including the PRC) and restricting prohibited technologies from state networks, he called the CCP “an existential threat” to Americans.
That rhetoric changed in 2024, when Reeves requested the state legislature appropriate $350 million in incentives for the construction of a $1.9 billion EV battery plant, despite 10 percent ownership by what the Mississippi Development Authority’s director described as “a respected Chinese company.”
In the lead-up to the November 2024 gubernatorial elections held in 11 states, Republican candidates in five states (Indiana, North Carolina, Montana, Utah, and Missouri) either highlighted China-related issues in their advertisements, attacked opponents for their stances on China-related issues, or otherwise mentioned China during their activities on the campaign trail.
For example, in Indiana, three of the GOP candidates prioritized “combating China” in their platforms, focusing on foreign land ownership, intellectual property protection, fentanyl, TikTok, and semiconductor development. Local media criticized them for emphasizing federal talking points over state-specific issues. As the primary approached, and amid revelations about the Indiana Economic Development Corporation being in recent discussions with numerous Chinese companies looking to purchase or lease state land, tough rhetoric against the PRC persisted, with two out of six candidates mentioning China while outlining agendas addressing environmental issues.
The shift in U.S. governors’ rhetoric mirrors broader changes in state-level approaches toward China-related issues, as evidenced in part by the volume and scope of measures introduced across state legislatures in 2023 and 2024. That will be the focus of the next articles in the series..
Sourcing note
Governors’ state of the state addresses delivered in 2005 and 2006 were identified from records compiled by Education Commission of the States and supplemental research across individual states. Addresses delivered from 2007 to 2022 were identified from records compiled by Ballotpedia and supplemental research. A copy of Nebraska’s 2022 address, which isn’t publicly available online, was obtained through a record request to the Nebraska State Historical Society. Addresses delivered in 2023 and 2024 were identified from records compiled by the National Governors Association and supplemental research.
Acknowledgements
This research was conducted with support from the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Templeton Fellowship. I am grateful to Prof. Jacques deLisle, Dr. Kyle Jaros, Dr. Sara Newland, Dr. Matthew Erie, Dr. Christopher Carothers, Prof. Ryan Scoville, Connor Fiddler, and an anonymous reviewer for their feedback during the research process and/or on earlier drafts. All errors are my own.
