releases: https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/gop-likely-to-court-moderate-democrats-in-senate
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/latest-headlines/gop-likely-to-court-moderate-democrats-in-senate | GOP likely to court moderate Democrats in Senate | 2014-12-18 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Democrat | House | MO | Claire McCaskill | M001170 | www.mccaskill.senate.gov | legacy | GOP likely to court moderate Democrats in Senate Thursday, December 18, 2014 By: Nicole Guadiano WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware said Republicans have asked to work with him next year on a wide range of issues. And Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has noticed that her GOP colleagues "are all being very nice" to her. They and other moderate Senate Democrats expect to be in high demand as Republicans prepare to take over the Senate in the next Congress and will need Democratic allies to push their agenda. Most Senate bills require 60 votes to overcome the threat of a filibuster. Republicans will claim 54 votes next year, six shy of that mark. As a result, they're seeking help from moderate Democrats on issues such as transportation, tax reform, trade and energy. "It will be the way that we can maybe bring compromise together in very effective ways," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "So I'm counting on some of them." Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said he thinks moderate Democrats will agree that "we've got to lighten the burden that's costing millions of jobs in over-regulation." "I think they got that message in the results of this election," Inhofe said. Democrats lost nine Senate seats in November's elections. That includes seats held by four Democrats who resigned and five moderates who were defeated. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was the latest to go down when she lost a Dec. 6 runoff election. Come January, there will be about a dozen moderate Democrats left in the Senate, down from at least 18 in 2011. Those who remain include former governors who are used to finding paths to compromise. "If we want to get something done, we know one thing," said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a former governor. "The formula for success is not what we just came off of, the four years I've been here." Progressives fear that, even in smaller numbers, moderate Democrats can do big damage to the advancement of a populist economic agenda by voting to help cut entitlement benefits, pass trade deals that move jobs overseas or cut taxes for corporations. "The worst possible thing for Democrats going into 2016 would be if we paper over the differences with Republicans by only focusing on small-bore, lowest common denominator ideas, or even worse, if Democrats help pass unpopular right-wing ideas into law, hiding what Democrats really stand for," said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. Moderate Democrats may be willing to work on trade deals, tax reform or budget deals, said Matt Bennett, spokesman for the centrist think tank Third Way. But they're not going to vote for "veto bait," such as a repeal of the Affordable Care Act or sanctioning President Obama for his executive order on immigration, he said. "There are places where you could see Democratic moderates really trying to find ways to say yes, but they're not going to compromise their principles to do it," Bennett said. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said the opportunity for getting things done with Republicans diminishes "if the fringe over there tends to pull them to the right." Republicans and Democrats should be able to work together on legislation to fund long-term transportation projects, strengthen U.S. cyber defenses, lower corporate tax rates and break barriers to exports, Carper said. He said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., also has spoken with him about pairing Republican-backed legislation to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline with bipartisan energy conservation legislation. "There are going to be plenty of opportunities for people — both Democrats and Republicans — to serve as a bridge in the new Congress to pull folks toward the center," Carper said. "Otherwise, we'll never get anything done." While in the majority, Senate Democrats have relied on support from moderate Republicans, such as Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of only three Senate Republicans who voted to pass the 2009 economic stimulus package. During the White House effort to build support for the bill, Vice President Biden repeatedly called Collins on her cell phone when her signal kept fading as she traveled through Maine. Collins said moderate Democrats will play a key role helping to shape legislation in the next Congress. "Judging from what I experienced, I would say they'll be very much in demand," she said. Contributing: Deirdre Shesgreen and Christopher Doering Print Email Tweet | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |