Erika D. Smith, Columnist

Democrats Had Too Many Responses to the State of the Union

February 25, 2026 at 7:46 PM UTC

Erika D. Smith is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She is a former Los Angeles Times columnist and Sacramento Bee editorial board member.

Spanberger wasn’t the only Democrat speaking up.
Photographer: Mike Kropf/Getty Images

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Flanked by American flags and a small audience that applauded politely on cue, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger beamed into Americans’ homes late Tuesday night to deliver the Democratic Party’s official rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s winding State of the Union address.

Calm, rational and measured, with a “laser focus” on affordability issues, she was a strategic choice: exactly the sort of moderate politician that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer want setting an agenda for their brand-challenged party. More Americans than ever — 58%, according to CNN — now believe the Democrats are “too liberal.”