Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are on their way out of the Senate, which means Democrats’ biggest block to progress—the filibuster—could be, too. Filibuster reform is front and center in this election, with Democrats arguing that a restoration of abortion rights, voting rights, and civil liberty protections hang in the balance.
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, a longtime leading advocate of filibuster reform, told NBC News that the prospects for reform look promising if the Democrats hold the Senate.
“Unfortunately, two folks decided to support the no-effort obstruction, as opposed to the talking filibuster,” Merkley said. “But I think everyone who’s staying is pretty supportive of going through the process of making the Senate work again.”
That includes even a moderate Democrat like Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
“I’ve been here just over three years, and I’ve never seen an organization with rules like the United States Senate,” Kelly said. “If NASA had these rules, the rocket ship would never leave the launchpad. So as changes to the rules come up, I’ll evaluate it based on the merits.”
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, who is defending his seat this cycle, told the Associated Press that he “has been on the record for years” in support of filibuster reform and still supports that position.
So does Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is also facing a Republican challenge this year. Reforming the filibuster to protect against a national abortion ban has become central to her campaign.
“Republicans have shown time and again that they will stop at nothing in their pursuit of controlling women’s bodies—and I believe them,” she said.
Every Democratic contender for vacancies in the Senate supports reform, including Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is vying to replace Sinema. He pledges to “continue to champion the right to choose—starting by waiving the filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, who is running to fill the California vacancy left by the death of Dianne Feinstein, cited abortion, climate change, gun safety, and voting rights as reasons to change the filibuster, and he’s not afraid of GOP backlash if they eventually gain a filibuster-free Senate.
“The Republican policies are so reactionary, backward, and unpopular that should they ever really be in a position to put them into effect, they’ll be voted out of office in a heartbeat,” he said.
Schiff is joined by Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, and Maryland County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, all of whom are running to replace outgoing Democratic senators and calling for filibuster reform.
Challengers in red states are also calling for filibuster reform. Texas Rep. Colin Allred is up against Sen. Ted Cruz and is in favor of eliminating the filibuster.
“I understood that there were some members who had concerns about doing away with the filibuster entirely, but the voting rights legislation is about how you even make up the body of the Senate,” Allred said. “A supermajority requirement in the Senate is nowhere in the Constitution.”
Former Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is taking on Sen. Rick Scott, said “Democracy is 50 plus one, and for certain issues, I am very much in favor of pausing the filibuster and voting for a woman’s right to choose to codify Roe v. Wade.”
Everything that Manchin and Sinema stopped President Joe Biden and Democrats from achieving in the past four years—including restoring voting rights and abortion rights, raising the minimum wage, making millionaire hedge fund executives pay their taxes, sensible gun control, and environmental justice—could happen with a second Biden term and a Democratic Senate.
Hell, they could even reform the Supreme Court.
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