Democrats bet on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's cost-focused message to counter Trump

WASHINGTON — Democrats are betting that Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's affordability-focused message, which helped her flip a Republican-held office last November, will resonate with the country when she delivers their party's response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday night. The rebuttal gives Democrats a prime opportunity to make their case against Trump and his policies ahead of the midterm elections. Spanberger's double-digit victory in Virginia last November was viewed by party leaders as validation of a disciplined message centered on lowering costs — one they now want to elevate in campaigns nationwide. "Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring," Spanberger said in a statement. "I look forward to laying out what these Americans expect and deserve — leaders who are working hard to deliver for them." Spanberger will deliver the speech from Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum with restored 18th-century buildings, drawing on the site's role at the heart of Virginia's early opposition to British rule and connecting that legacy to the current political moment, according to her team. She will have far less time than the Republican president to deliver her rebuttal. Trump's speech before Congress last year stretched to an hour and 40 minutes, while Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin's Democratic response lasted just over 10 minutes. Spanberger's speech will be the fifth consecutive response to a president's address to Congress delivered by a female senator or governor. Trump on Monday told reporters that his State of the Union is "going to be a long speech, because we have so much to talk about." As viewership tends to drop the longer the speech runs, the response has become one of the more perilous assignments in politics. Now–Secretary of State Marco Rubio was widely mocked for reaching for a water bottle during the GOP response in 2013. Other rebuttals have quickly faded from memory. Even with the time disadvantage, Democrats argue the political winds are shifting in their favor. Spanberger's win in Virginia was followed by other high-profile Democratic victories, including a special election earlier this month in Texas, where a Democrat flipped a reliably Republican state Senate district that Trump carried by 17 percentage points in 2024. Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California will deliver the party's Spanish-language response. Padilla, who in June was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in Los Angeles as he tried to speak up about immigration raids, said in a statement that there is a better path than the one Trump has offered: "one that lowers costs, safeguards our democracy, and reins in rogue federal agencies." Speaking at a press conference with Senate Democrats on Tuesday ahead of Trump's address, Padilla said his speech would include a "call to action." "Nobody is coming to rescue us. Only Americans will save America," Padilla said. "That will be the contrast to the lies and deceptions of President Trump tonight." Some Democrats are choosing to make their point by skipping Trump's address. Counterprogramming events are planned, including a "State of the Swamp" featuring Democratic lawmakers alongside state and local leaders and celebrities.