“I think there are a lot of Democrat people who are looking for a way out. They want an off-ramp here,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told the Hill on Thursday. “There’s a good amount of outreach going on and conversations being held. We’ll see where it goes.”
Three Democrat-aligned senators have already voted with Republicans to keep the government open — Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Angus King (I-ME).
Below is a list of other Democrats who could possibly be swayed, based on their previous voting records, the way their districts lean, and other factors.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
While the 78-year-old former New Hampshire governor voted no on the Republicans’ CR on Tuesday, she voted yes on their CR in March to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, which ended on Wednesday.
Shaheen told reporters after her no vote, “I have been in intensive conversations with colleagues from both sides of the aisle on how to find a path forward and I’m eager to work with my Republican colleagues to find common ground.”
She further explained to MSNBC that she voted no “So that now we can hopefully get back to the negotiating table was the best approach.”
The senator also denied that Democrats are fighting to include illegal immigrants in taxpayer-funded healthcare and seemed shocked when Fox News’s Lawrence Jones played a clip of them saying otherwise:
Shaheen announced that she would not seek re-election in March, Breitbart News reported.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI)
Peters, who also announced that he would not seek re-election earlier this year, ripped the Republicans’ legislation in a statement posted to social media, but added that he is “ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reach a bipartisan deal that prevents health care costs from rising even more and meets the needs of all of our communities.”
Along with Shaheen and a few others, the Hill reported that Peters is “among the preeminent Democrats that Republicans hope to flip.”
The ten-year senator and former House member was also one of the 10 Democrats to vote for the March CR, saying at the time that “A shutdown under President Trump right now would be catastrophic.”
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
The other senator representing New Hampshire joined Shaheen in March in voting for the CR, and announced on Thursday that she will “Keep working to find a bipartisan way to reopen the government and stop health care costs from rising even further.”
Newsweek described Hassan as a “moderate” like her fellow New Hampshire senator, with MSNBC reporting that she was in a group of Democrats on the Senate floor Tuesday night “Who spent a considerable amount of time talking with one another before they ultimately voted against the Republican bill.”
That group also included Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), and Shaheen.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)
Other than being a part of the notable group of Democrats who appeared to wrestle with their no votes on Tuesday, Gallego is also “among those viewed as potential key votes” on the CR because he represents a state won by President Donald Trump last November, Newsweek noted.
However, he voted against the March CR and has not shared messages of “bipartisanship” in regards to the government shutdown, unlike some of the other moderate Democrats.
“Republicans could end this government shutdown right now and stop health insurance premiums from doubling for millions of Americans,” the Arizona senator wrote in a Wednesday X post. “Why are they choosing to let costs skyrocket?”
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA)
While Ossoff also voted no on the March CR and the Tuesday one, he indicated just before the shutdown occurred that he is willing to work with Trump and Republicans “to reopen the Federal government and to prevent these huge increases in health care costs for Georgia families.”
Like many of his fellow Democrats, he has stressed health care as his biggest issue with the Republican-led stopgap bill.
As Axios reported, Ossoff “could feel pressure to break with his party to fund the government” because he is up for re-election next year in a state won by Trump.
His campaign will be “the most important incumbent race for Senate Democrats next year,” the outlet noted.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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