29 senators who voted for Obamacare and won't be part of new SenateOn 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, 25 senators who voted for Obamacare were already out or not going be part of the new Senate being sworn in on January.
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.
That having been said, as of this writing, 15 Senators who voted for Obamacare either failed to win reelection or declined to run for reelection and had their seats turned over to Republicans. That number is likely to grow once the results are in from the Senate runoff in Louisiana, which Mary Landrieu is expected to lose.
The following is a breakdown of senators who have voted for Obamacare who will not be part of the next Senate.
Lost and replaced by a Republican:
Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska -- lost to Dan Sullivan, R
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, R
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.
Evan Bayh, D-Ind.
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. (appointed to replace Ted Kennedy -- seat later held by Republican Scott Brown)
John Kerry, D-Mass.
Ted Kauffman, D-Del.
Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Died in office:
Robert Byrd, D-W.V
Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii
Frank Lautenberg, D- N.J
Vulnerable pro-Obamacare Democrats still at risk in 2014:
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.
CORRECTION: This list was corrected to reflect that Kent Conrad was replaced by a Democrat, not a Republican.
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