List of Opposition Responses

  List and Transcripts of Opposition Party Responses to State of the Union Addresses
 starting with
Lyndon Johnson (1966)

      * Denotes addresses not considered official State of the Union messages
         Available transcripts of the response are indicated by hyperlinked date

President
Date Opposition Party Respondent(s)
Lyndon B. Johnson

 

 
  January 12, 1966  Senator Everett Dirksen (IL) and Rep. Gerald Ford (MI)
  January 10, 1967  Senator Everett Dirksen (IL) and Rep. Gerald Ford (MI)
  January 17, 1968  Rep. William Steiger (WI), Senator Thomas Kuchel (CA), Rep. Gerald Ford (MI), Senator Charles Percy (IL), Rep. Richard Poff (VA), Rep. George Bush (TX), Rep. Robert Mathias (CA), Senator Howard Baker (TN), Senator Hugh Scott (PA), Senator John Tower (TX), Rep. Charlotte Reid (IL), Senator Peter Dominick (CO), Rep. Albert Quie (MN), Rep. Melvin Laird (WI), Senator Robert P. Griffin (MI), and Senator George Murphy (CA).
  January 14, 1969  No response
Richard Nixon    
  January 22, 1970  Senator William Proxmire (WI), Rep. Donald Fraser (MN), Senator Mike Mansfield (MT), Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson (WA), Senator Edmund Muskie (ME), Rep. Patsy Mink (HI), and Rep. John McCormack (MA).
  January 22, 1971  Senator Mike Mansfield (MT)
  January 20, 1972  Senator William Proxmire (WI), Senator Frank Church (ID), Senator Thomas Eagleton (MO), Senator Lloyd Bentsen (TX), Rep. Leonor Sullivan (MO), Rep. John Melcher (MT), Rep. John Brademas (IN), Rep. Martha Griffiths (MI), Rep. Ralph Metcalfe (IL), Rep. Carl Albert (OK), and Rep. Hale Boggs (LA).
  February 2, 1973  No presidential address...written message submitted to Congress
  January 30, 1974  Senator Mike Mansfield (MT)
Gerald R. Ford

 

 
  January 15, 1975  Senator Hubert Humphrey (MN) and Representative Carl Albert (OK)
  January 19, 1976  Senator Edmund Muskie (ME)
  January 12, 1977  No response
Jimmy Carter    
  January 19, 1978  Senator Howard Baker Jr. (TN) and Rep. John Rhodes (AZ)
  January 25, 1979  Senator Howard Baker Jr. (TN) and Rep. John Rhodes (AZ)
  January 21, 1980  Senator Ted Stevens (AK) and Rep. John Rhodes (AZ)
  January 16, 1981  No presidential address...written message submitted to Congress
Ronald Reagan

 

 
  *February 18, 1981  No response
  January 26, 1982  Senator Donald Riegle (MI), Senator James Sasser (TN), Rep. Albert Gore Jr. (TN), Senator Robert Byrd (W.Va), Senator Edward Kennedy (MA), House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill (MA), Senator Gary Hart (CO), Senator Paul Sarbanes (MD), Senator J. Bennett Johnston (LA), and Senator Alan Cranston (CA).
  January 25, 1983  Senator Robert Byrd (WV), Senator Paul Tsongas (MA), Senator Bill Bradley (NJ), Senator Joe Biden (DE), Rep. Tom Daschle (SD), Rep. Barbara Kennelly (CT), House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill (MA), Rep. George Miller (CA), Rep. Les AuCoin (OR), Rep. Paul Simon (IL), Rep. Timothy Wirth (CO), and Rep. W.G. "Bill" Hefner (NC).
  January 25, 1984  Senator Joe Biden (DE), Sen. David Boren (OK), Senator Carl M. Levin (MI), Senator Max S. Baucus (MT), Senator Robert Byrd (WV), Senator Claiborne Pell (RI), Senator Walter Huddleston (KY), Rep. Dante B. Fascell (FL), Rep. Tom Harkin (IA), Rep. William Gray(PA), House Speaker Thomas O'Neill (MA), and Rep. Barbara Boxer (CA).
  February 6, 1985  Gov. Bill Clinton (AR), Gov. Bob Graham (FL), House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill (MA).
  February 4, 1986  Senators George Mitchell (ME), Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods (MO), Gov. Charles Robb (VA), Rep. Thomas Daschle (SD), Rep. William Gray (PA)
  January 27, 1987  Senator Robert Byrd (WV) and House Speaker Jim Wright (TX)
  January 25, 1988  Senator Robert Byrd (WV) and House Speaker Jim Wright (TX)
George Bush    
  *February 9, 1989  House Speaker Jim Wright (TX) and Senator Lloyd Bentsen (TX)
  January 31, 1990  House Speaker Tom Foley (WA)
  January 29, 1991  Senator George Mitchell (ME)
  January 28, 1992  House Speaker Tom Foley (WA)
William J. Clinton

 

 
  *February 17, 1993  Rep. Bob Michel (IL)
  January 25, 1994  Senator Robert Dole (KS)
  January 24, 1995  Governor Christine Todd Whitman (NJ)
  January 23, 1996  Senator Robert Dole (KS)
  February 4, 1997  Rep. J.C. Watts (OK)
  January 27, 1998  Senator Trent Lott (MS)
  January 19, 1999  Rep. Jennifer Dunn (WA) and Rep. Steven Largent (OK)
  January 27, 2000  Senator Susan Collins (ME) and Senator William Frist (TN)
George W. Bush    
  *February 27, 2001  Senator Tom Daschle (SD) and Rep. Richard Gephardt (MO).
  January 29, 2002  Rep. Richard Gephardt (MO)
  January 28, 2003  Governor Gary Locke (WA)
  January 20, 2004  Senator Tom Daschle (SD) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA)
  February 2, 2005  Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA) and Senator Harry Reid (NV)
  January 31, 2006  Governor Timothy Kaine (VA)
  January 23, 2007  Senator James Webb (VA)
  January 28, 2008  Governor Kathleen Sebelius (KS)
Barack Obama

 

 
  *February 24, 2009  Governor Bobby Jindal (LA)
  January 27, 2010  Governor Bob McDonnell (VA)
  January 25, 2011  Representative Paul D. Ryan (WI)
  January 24, 2012  Governor Mitch Daniels (IN)
  February 12, 2013  Senator Marco Rubio (FL)
  January 28, 2014  Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA)
  January 20, 2015  Senator Joni Ernst (IA)
  January 12, 2016  Governor Nikki Haley (SC)
Donald J. Trump

 

 
  *February 28, 2017 

Former Governor Steve Beshear (KY)

  January 30, 2018 Representative Joe Kennedy (MA)
  February 5, 2019 Stacey Abrams (Former Minority Leader, GA House of Representatives and candidate for Governor of Georgia)
 

February 4, 2020

February 4, 2020

Governor Gretchen Whitmer (MI)

Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX) Spanish-language response.

Joseph R. Biden    
  *April 28, 2021 Senator Tim Scott (SC)
  March 1, 2022 Governor Kim Reynolds (IA)
  February 7, 2023 Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AR)
  March 7, 2024 Senator Katie Britt (AL)

 

 


Data Sources:
•  1966-2000: Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives
•  2001-present: The American Presidency Project

Citation: Gerhard Peters. "List of Opposition Responses to State of the Union Addresses." The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/324138/.