Abigail Spanberger gave Democrats’ response to Trump. But she didn’t have the stage to herself.

Democratic groups staging counter-programming events offered a snapshot of a party divided over how best to approach the midterms.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, Feb. 24, 2026, in Williamsburg, Virginia. | Steve Helber/AP

Democratic leadership’s choice to have Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger deliver the State of the Union rebuttal was a strategic move to keep the party’s focus on affordability. But she was just one Democrat jockeying to pave the way forward for the party.

Various Democratic factions hosting numerous competing events Tuesday night diverged on the best way to challenge President Donald Trump. Throughout the speeches, universal calls to bring down costs and crack down on ICE mixed in with more forceful and sometimes vulgar rebukes of his administration — laying bare the ideological and stylistic divides that are driving the party’s identity crisis.

Spanberger — a one-time battleground House Democrat who joined Congress during the party’s last wave election — was the headliner, calling from Williamsburg, Virgina, for Trump to focus on the needs of American families while also condemning the president for doing “what he always does: he lied, he scapegoated, and he distracted.”

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