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
| 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) | |
|
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/.