Last year was challenging for Gov. Mike Pence after a number of his policy positions put the state in an unwanted spotlight.

Pence on Tuesday will deliver his annual State of the State address.

It offers him a chance to turn the corner on his handling of a divisive religious objections law, his initial opposition to needle exchanges to stem an HIV outbreak and his efforts to keep Syrian refugees out of Indiana.

Former Indiana Republican Party Chairman Mike McDaniel says those issues overshadowed Pence’s significant accomplishments.

He expects Pence’s speech will focus on job creation, an improving economy and low unemployment numbers.

The State of the State address will precede the President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union.

The address is expected to brim with optimism, perhaps more than most Americans possess.

After six years of pitching ambitious proposals in his annual speech to Congress, Obama plans to take a rhetorical step back Tuesday as he opens the final stretch of his presidency. By returning to the hopeful tenor of his presidential campaigns, Obama hopes to give voice to themes that Democrats can embrace in their campaigns to replace Obama and win back Congress.

But the country doesn’t always see it the same way.

Seven in 10 Americans said they see the U.S. heading in the wrong direction, according to an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll last month. That’s a marked decline from just two months earlier.

Listen to the State of the State address at 7 p.m. 

Listen to the State of the Union address at 9 p.m.

95.3 MNC’s Casey Hendrickson will host a pre-State of the Union special at 8:35 p,m. and have post-address commentary after the address and the Republican response.