Washington (CNN) Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, focused on health care and American workers when she delivered the party's response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday, putting a spotlight on the bread-and-butter issues that Democrats hope will resonate with the American public in the wake of impeachment.

"Democrats are trying to make your health care better. Republicans in Washington are trying to take it away," Whitmer said in her speech.

She spoke about health care in personal terms, describing how she had fought against an insurance company after her mother was "wrongly denied her coverage for chemotherapy."

Whitmer also made an economic appeal, saying, "American workers are hurting. ... Wages have stagnated, while CEO pay has skyrocketed."

White House officials had said Trump would stress a strong US economy in his remarks Tuesday night. Taking on the President directly, Whitmer said, "It doesn't matter what the President says about the stock market. What matters is that millions of people struggle to get by or don't have enough money at the end of the month after paying for transportation, student loans, or prescription drugs."

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