Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is delivering the Democratic Party’s response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, a spot typically given to a lawmaker seen as an emerging star in their party.
Spanberger’s selection means that the governor, who became the first woman elected to lead her state last November after previously serving in the U.S. House, will be at the forefront of Democrats’ rebuttal to the President’s highly anticipated speech Tuesday night.
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“Since the people of the Virginia Colony first gathered to take on the extraordinary task of governing themselves, Williamsburg has served as a testament to the power of ordinary citizens to shape the future of our nation, demand better from our government, and pursue a more perfect union for all,” Spanberger said in a press release announcing that she would give the party’s televised response.
“On Tuesday, I look forward to joining Virginians in this historic place to lay out the next chapter of our story—a clear vision for a stronger, safer, and more affordable future for every American who calls our nation home,” she continued.
Here’s what to know about Spanberger ahead of her remarks.
What did she do before she was in elected office?
Before she started her career in politics, Spanberger worked at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, investigating federal narcotics and money laundering cases, and later worked at the Central Intelligence Agency, including as an undercover operative.
After years of public service, she worked in the private sector for a consulting firm, before announcing her campaign for a seat in the House. She has said that she was motivated to run for office after the 2016 election, when “she saw division in our communities—and when her representative voted to repeal the healthcare coverage of hundreds of thousands of Virginians,” according to her website.
In 2018, she won Virginia’s 7th Congressional District with a little more than 50% of the vote, while her Republican opponent, then-incumbent Rep. Dave Brat, won about 48% of the vote. She was the first Democratic politician in 50 years to win that district, which was composed of what at the time were considered to be Republican suburbs. She served three consecutive terms in Congress before her gubernatorial run.
What did she do while in Congress?
Spanberger is known for being a moderate Democrat. While serving in the House, she worked on and led several bipartisan pieces of legislation, including bills intended to prevent fentanyl overdoses and to provide support for veterans in her state.
Spanberger has, at times, expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the Democratic Party and its leadership. In 2018, she voted against Nancy Pelosi’s bid for speaker of the House, telling CNN ahead of the vote that she had “tremendous respect” for Pelosi—then the party’s longtime leader in the lower chamber—but emphasizing “the need to turn a new page in the way we engage across the aisle, and really to be able to work on the priorities that were most important to the people in my district.” After the 2020 election—in which Spanberger won her re-election bid by only a small margin, and Democrats lost seats in the House—Spanberger criticized her colleagues on the left for aligning themselves with the growing calls from the public to “defund the police.” She urged her colleagues to make some changes—otherwise, she said, they would be “crushed” in upcoming elections.
But Spanberger has also vocally criticized a number of Trump’s policies. And the instances when she’s pushed back against her own party’s leaders or more left-leaning messaging have not prevented her from facing backlash from the right. Despite her voting against Pelosi’s speakership bid in 2018, for instance, the Virginia lawmaker was later accused by Republicans of voting “100% with Pelosi.”
Why was her 2025 election as governor significant?
Spanberger’s gubernatorial campaign centered on the economy, including jobs and the cost of living. She criticized the Trump Administration’s cuts to federal agencies, which have had a major impact on her state.
“Virginia’s economy doesn’t work when Washington treats our Virginia workers as expendable,” she said in her victory speech. “And to those across the Potomac who are attacking our jobs and our economy, I will not stand by silently.”
Spanberger ultimately declared victory with a more than 15 point-margin against her Republican opponent, then-lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears, and flipped control of the governor’s mansion in the process. Virginia is often viewed as something of a bellwether for the midterm elections, and some suggested that Spanberger’s decisive win in the purple state indicated that focusing on economic messaging could be an effective strategy for Democrats to deploy elsewhere.
Her victory was also significant in a historic sense: Spanberger became the first woman to ever serve as Virginia’s governor.
Why was she chosen to deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union address?
When announcing last week that Spanberger would be delivering the party’s response to the President’s speech, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer heralded her resume and praised her track record on a number of issues.
“Abigail is a champion for lowering the high cost of living, saving healthcare from the relentless far-right assault and protecting the federal workforce so they can serve the American people without political interference,” Jeffries said in a press release. “She stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who will lie, deflect and blame everyone but himself for his failed presidency on Tuesday evening.”
Schumer said that Spanberger “has always put service over politics.”
“She knows Americans want lower costs, safer communities, and a stronger democracy—not chaos and corruption,” he said in the press release. “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.”
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