Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are optimistic today’s elections provide the momentum they need to reopen the government.
“We are working for and hoping for a huge Democrat blowout … that will deal a decisive repudiation” to the GOP and “bring the Republican shutdown to an end,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told Semafor.
Senate Democrats expressed a similar sentiment: “It’s pretty clear — and I think tomorrow’s results may confirm this — that the American people want us to fight for them,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters she believed bipartisan negotiations are “finally making progress” not only because “there’s more specificity in what is being sought,” but because “for some Democrats, waiting until after tomorrow’s elections is an issue.”
“I don’t understand why,” she added.