27 senators who voted for Obamacare won't be part of new Senate

11/5/2014

On Dec. 24, 2009, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed President Obama’s healthcare law with a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority, triggering a massive backlash that propelled Republicans to control of the House the following year. On the Senate side, going into Tuesday’s elections, 24 senators who voted for Obamacare will not be part of the new Senate being sworn in on January. That number will increase, though the exact number depends on the outcome of several Senate races taking place on Tuesday.

To be sure, it isn’t fair to attribute all of the turnover in the chamber to Obamacare. Many senators voted for Obamacare and lost re-election battles in which they were hit hard for their support for the law, and other Democrats were forced to retire because they had no hope of getting re-elected given their support for the law. But in some cases — such as John Kerry leaving his seat to become secretary of state, or Robert Byrd passing away — Obamacare clearly had nothing to do with it.

Additionally, some outgoing pro-Obamacare votes were replaced by new Democratic senators. On a net basis, going into the evening, Democrats held five fewer Senate seats than when Obamacare passed — a number that is expected to grow as the evening goes on.

The following is a breakdown of senators who have voted for Obamacare who will not be part of the next Senate. It will be updated throughout the evening, with affected seats in italics.

Lost and replaced by a Republican:

Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. -- lost to Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo. -- lost to Rep. Cory Gardner, R- Colo.

Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C. -- lost to Thom Tillis

Russ Feingold, D-Wis.

Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.

Arlen Specter, D-Penn.

Left Senate and replaced by a Republican:

Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V.

Max Baucus, D-Mont.

Tim Johnson, D-S.D.

Tom Harkin, D-Iowa

Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.

Kent Conrad, D-N.D.

Evan Bayh, D-Ind.

Roland Burris, D-Ill.

Left Senate and replaced by a Democrat:

Jim Webb, D-Va.

Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.

Herb Kohl, D-Wis.

Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii

Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.

Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

Paul Kirk, D-Mass. (seat temporarily held by Republican Scott Brown)

John Kerry, D-Mass.

Ted Kauffman, D-Del.

Died in office:

Robert Byrd, D-W.V

Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii

Frank Lautenberg, D- N.J

Vulnerable pro-Obamacare Democrats standing for re-election on Tuesday:

Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

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