Senate Democratic candidates have a new rallying cry: Some current Senate Democrats made the wrong call with their deal to reopen the government.
“This deal is a joke that sells out working people and their health care,” Senate hopeful and former Rep. Colin Allred wrote on X. “Four million Texans are relying on us to keep their premiums from skyrocketing. If we don’t stand our ground for our people, then who will?”
Senate Democrats spent 40 days swearing they would not vote to reopen the government unless current health care subsidies were extended. They repeatedly ruled out an offer from Senate GOP leadership to allow for a vote on health care after the government is reopened.
But Sunday night, eight senators in the Democratic Caucus voted to advance a deal that did nothing to extend current Affordable Care Act credits. Five of those Democrats had been among the longstanding holdouts. Instead, the deal included a package of spending bills, a continuation of funding through January, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding through the end of 2026 and a promise to hold a vote on a health care bill of Democrats’ choice in December.
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Though a majority of Senate Democrats voted against that deal — including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — Democratic candidates across the ideological spectrum cast their ire on the legislation and their would-be colleagues on Sunday night.
Josh Turek, an Iowa state House representative who’s running for the Senate, wrote: “Health care is worth fighting for. … No protection for health care, no deal.”
Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, another Senate contender who has previously called for new Democratic leadership in the chamber, wrote: “This is a bad deal, and the old way of doing things is clearly not working. We need new leaders in the Senate.”
Graham Platner of Maine wrote: “Senate Democrats need to hold the line. No healthcare, no deal.”
Others like Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota and Texas state Rep. James Talarico have all also rebuked the deal.
Even a handful of Democrats who’ve been top recruits for current Democratic leadership took swipes. Both former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Maine Gov. Janet Mills posted about the need for codified health care protections around the time the deal was widely announced in the news.
Brown wrote: “This is a bad deal for Ohioans. … We can’t allow health care costs to skyrocket and not be willing to fight.”
Mills wrote: “Maine people deserve affordable health care — not just the promise of a vote that won’t go anywhere. Fight back.”
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