Newly inaugurated Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union address immediately after he finishes speaking to Congress on Tuesday.
In November, Spanberger defeated Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by a better-than-expected 15-point margin to flip the commonwealth for Democrats after four years of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin — a result that was widely interpreted as an early electoral rebuke of Trump’s second-term priorities and performance.
A former CIA officer and three-term U.S. representative, Spanberger now serves as Virginia’s first female governor.
“We chose our commonwealth over chaos,” Spanberger told her supporters on election night. “You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most: lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian — leadership that will focus on problem-solving, not stoking division.”
CNN reported on Tuesday that Spanberger will deliver her speech live from Colonial Williamsburg, with an aide telling the outlet that she picked the spot “because it was from there in 1776 that Virginia sent its delegation to the Continental Congress to propose independence and, less than a month later, adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights.”
The aide also told CNN that Spanberger’s speech will focus on “affordability, the ‘chaos’ caused by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress not standing up more to the president.”
Each year, the opposition party tries to counterprogram the president’s annual address by platforming a rising star who can articulate its chosen message — and embody the image it wants to convey.
Recent Democratic picks include Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. Recent Republican picks include Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and then-Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who now serves as Trump’s secretary of state.
Spanberger’s selection suggests that Democrats plan to emphasize moderation and economic security as they target college-educated suburban voters — especially women — in November’s midterm elections.
“Gov. Spanberger will lay out a clear path forward: lower everyday costs, protect healthcare, and defend the freedoms that define who we are as a nation,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
Spanberger “embodies the best of America as a mother, community leader and dedicated public servant,” added House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
On Capitol Hill, Spanberger parlayed her CIA experience into a career as a center-left voice — or, as she often put it, “a passionate pragmatist.”
Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign stuck to a similar script, focusing less on Trump’s latest social media post than on the cost of living — an especially salient issue in a state where many residents have been affected by the president’s drastic cuts to the federal government.
“Virginia’s economy doesn’t work when Washington treats our Virginia workers as expendable,” Spanberger said on election night. “And to those across the Potomac who are attacking our jobs and our economy, I will not stand by silently.”
Spanberger framed her victory in November — which came just a year after Trump lost Virginia by a significantly smaller margin than he did during his previous presidential runs — as a message about choosing “pragmatism over partisanship,” drawing an implicit contrast with both the president and members of her own party who prioritize ideological purity over what she described as “practical results.”
“I know in my heart that we can unite,” Spanberger said at the time.
Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California will deliver a Spanish-language response to Trump’s State of the Union.
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