West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin III
Fifteen Democratic Senators are poised to decide the fate of the country over the next two years of GOP rule. That's how many Democrats GOP senators think they can target for bipartisan pieces of legislation.
Here's Ed O'Keefe:
Fifteen is an encouraging number to Republicans, who now have 54 seats. If every Republican agrees on a piece of legislation, they will need to find at least six Democrats to help a bill clear the chamber’s arcane procedural hurdles and pass. If a few Republicans peel away — which is likely given the inflexibly conservative views of some GOP senators — McConnell might need to rely on even more Democrats. Sixty-seven senators will be needed if Republicans want to override an Obama veto.
So if the GOP persuades 13 of the 15 Democrats, they can bypass the president on the way to making law (assuming all Republicans vote together).
Some bipartisan opportunities for legislation are recently debated ones that would undermine progressive priorities, such as approving the Keystone XL pipeline and revamping key elements of the Affordable Care Act in place (e.g. the 30-hour work week eligibility and the medical device tax that helps fund Obamacare). Others include authorizing military action against ISIS, adding new sanctions against Iran, reworking student loans, and allowing Americans to order prescription drugs from Canada.
Minority Leader Harry Reid intends to give Democratic moderates (mostly from less populated, rural states) some room to operate.
But that doesn’t mean Reid won’t play hardball. He warned last week that “any attempt to erode protections for working American families . . . will be met with a swift and unified Democratic opposition.”
But these Democratic senators are the ones to watch, especially if you live in their state. They could either help moderate the GOP to produce some reasonable legislation (a girl can dream!) or they could sell out regular folks for political gain. But they will be the real power brokers of the 114th.
Most likely gets:
Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-WV)
Next tier of possibilities:
Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (D-VA)
Sen. Angus King (I-ME)
Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA)
The rest:
Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)
Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-DE)
Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA)
Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-DE)
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT)