Sen. Elizabeth Warren left open the possibility of supporting primary challenges to Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin in an interview Monday.
Warren emphasized the need to get the Democrats’ voting reform bill through Congress, suggesting Manchin and Sinema’s actions this week could determine whether she would support a primary against them.
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“We’ll address that when we get past this week,” she said on CBS Mornings. “This is about our democracy. That’s the whole premise of how we have a government — is the consent of the governed. And that means that every American citizen has a right to vote and a right to get that vote counted.”
This week, the Senate will consider the House version of the voting reform legislation passed last week. Warren said that all 50 Senate Democrats have agreed to the voting reform. Last year, Manchin notably opposed the For The People Act, which was the voting reform legislation Democrats championed at the time. They are currently pursuing a different version.
Even if Democrats have full support from their Senate caucus, Republicans could block the bill using the filibuster. Democrats currently have the tiebreaker in a 50-50 Senate, but filibuster rules require 60 votes to end debate and move forward with a vote on legislation. Both Manchin and Sinema have repeatedly said they would not support removing the filibuster.
Frustrated with this opposition, some Democratic activists have suggested the party should support primary challenges against Manchin and Sinema, as they are both up for reelection in 2024.
Sinema comes from Arizona, a politically competitive state but one in which Democrats have been able to win statewide races. She serves alongside Sen. Mark Kelly, who is also a Democrat.
Manchin hails from the deep red state of West Virginia. He won a tight Senate race against a Republican challenger in 2018 by approximately 3 points after facing a progressive Democratic primary challenge from Paula Jean Swearengin and beating her by about 70 points. Former President Donald Trump defeated President Joe Biden in the state by nearly 39 points.
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Warren said a total repeal of the filibuster would give Democrats the ability to pursue legislation, such as codifying Roe v. Wade, immigration reform, and social spending increases.
She also suggested Democrats need to revisit their Build Back Better Bill, which could pass through Senate without a filibuster through budget reconciliation. Manchin announced opposition to the bill last year, effectively defeating it. Warren suggested Tuesday that Democrats could break the bill into smaller pieces to get what they can “across the finish line.”
