Jan 21, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Trump-state Democrats create surprise opening for Senate GOP

Stephen Neukam

United States Senator Jon Ossoff and United States Senator Raphael Warnock during Vice President Kamala Harris campaign event at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. — Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff (left) and Raphael Warnock, both of Georgia, attend a campaign event for presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Atlanta last summer. Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Senate Democrats from Trump states are starting to vote in tandem, which could make Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) life more complicated for the next two years.

Why it matters: Call it the buddy system for vulnerable Dems. If Senate GOP leader John Thune (R-S.D.) can flip a Democrat who's up for election in 2026, he increases his chance of picking up the other state's Dem senator.

That 2-for-1 math gives him massive incentive to push the limit on messaging bills ahead of 2026.
It's a major headache for Schumer if Monday night becomes a trend.

You saw this on the Laken Riley Act vote, which passed with help from 12 Democrats.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) quietly changed his position by voting in favor of final passage. He was backing up Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who faces reelection in 2026. Warnock later blamed a process objection for his flip.
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) voted with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who's up in '26.
So did new Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), whose fellow Democratic Michigander Sen. Gary Peters is up next year.

Zoom out: The Laken Riley Act is just the beginning of a barrage of GOP bills that Senate Democrats will have to find their footing on in the coming months.

Thune is likely to try to pass an abortion-related bill later this week, which is unlikely to get much — if any — Democratic support, sources tell Axios.
But other GOP legislation, particularly if it is related to the border and the economy, is an area ripe for some Democratic buy-in.

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to note that Sen. Shaheen (not Sen. Hassan) faces reelection in 2026.

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Trump-state Democrats create surprise opening for Senate GOP

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