How convenient.
According to a report on Tuesday evening from D.C. insider outlet Punchbowl News, there are at least 12 Senate Democrats willing to engage with Republicans on a plan to reopen the federal government.
This, in and of itself, is not surprising; a government shutdown cannot go on forever, particularly in Democrat-land, where a prolonged shuttering could mean an opportunity for lasting cuts on the Republican side.
However, something like the deal being reported to be under consideration could have been attained at any time since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1. Axios reported on a “three-legged plan” proposed by the Republicans on Monday, and the only substantive difference from earlier plans was a “sharper focus” on the details.
The three legs are 1) a continuing resolution with a longer funding period than the already-approved Nov. 21 deadline, 2) a vote on Obamacare subsidies, and 3) a bill which would fund military construction, the legislative branch, and other immediate priorities.
“I think we’re getting close to an off ramp here,” Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota remarked.
“They’re trying again, and they seem more optimistic,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, a Democrat, told the media.
“Now the challenge is to get leaders of both parties and both chambers to actually talk to each other,” Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat, said.
This challenge could have been surmounted if the Democrats hadn’t tried to “win the shutdown” — something that polls don’t seem to be showing they’re doing nationally, but which could have helped them in three major elections on Tuesday.
Do you think Democrats shut down the government to give themselves an election edge?
Lo and behold, as the polls were basically closing, it looked like there was substantive movement on that, per Punchbowl:
News in @PunchbowlNews PM — There are now more than a dozen Senate Dems engaging with R’s on reopening the govt, according to senators/aides familiar with the matter
New signs of optimism after Dem lunch as the shutdown is set to become the longest everhttps://t.co/BoZgdPG95I
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) November 4, 2025
The Republicans currently have 55 of the 60 votes needed to reopen, so only five more are needed to overcome the filibuster threshold. This is a number they’d easily reach if even half of the Democrats reportedly “engaging” decide to sign on.
Again: Correlation is not causality, but darned if that isn’t the most convenient correlation.
Three races could have been significantly impacted by the shutdown.
In Virginia, where federal employees in the northern D.C. suburbs make up a large chunk of the Democratic electorate, things weren’t expected to be close. Then, the party’s attorney general nominee, Jay Jones, was revealed to have sent texts imagining the assassination of the state’s Republican House speaker; he was also accused of saying that perhaps a few cops dying in the line of duty would be a good thing, since it might help them rethink how they police.
This wouldn’t have spread outside of Jones’ election against incumbent Virginia Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares if the gubernatorial nominee for governor, former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, had effectively denounced Jones and called for him to step back. You won’t be surprised to find she did not:
It shouldn’t take this many words to say fantasizing about murder is wrong and that Jay Jones needs to go. pic.twitter.com/EVuOpk2Ksj
— Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) October 9, 2025
However, the Democrats pulled out all the stops for Spanberger and the Democratic ticket in Virginia, and it paid off: Not only did Spanberger win easily despite that momentary hiccup, but reports indicate she managed to drag Jones across the line, too — albeit with a much smaller margin of victory when Decision Desk HQ made the call at 8:26 p.m. Eastern:
Decision Desk HQ projects Jay Jones to win the Virginia Attorney General election.#DecisionMade: 8:26 pm ET
Follow live results on our website. pic.twitter.com/7FHdoAkgCY
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 5, 2025
In New Jersey, meanwhile, there was a different set of circumstances; Democratic nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill is also a moderate-ish rising star from the suburbs, like Spanberger, but the part of the New Jersey suburbs from which Sherrill hails isn’t a bastion of Democratic support like Northern Virginia is. Furthermore, the parts of the state she needed to get votes from — the immediate New York City suburbs in Hudson and Essex counties, plus the Philly suburbs, aren’t just weak points for her organization, she managed to defeat the candidates who tend to dominate the Democratic political establishment there in the primaries.
Those are also the poorest parts of New Jersey, however — and the most likely to come out and vote if there was a pause in federal funding. Despite being a close race in the polls, the election was called for Sherrill shortly before 9:30 p.m. Eastern, and The New York Times estimates that Sherrill could end up with 56 percent or more of the vote when all is said and done.
Finally, there’s Proposition 50 in California, where the state aims to redraw the congressional lines in reaction to Texas’ redistricting. While Texas’ House redistricting made the map more accurately reflect what the voter makeup of the state is in 2025, California’s new map is meant to basically eliminate all Republican strongholds and give the Democrats Saddam Hussein-like margins in their House caucus. Again, an easy pass.
While Tuesday’s results were expected without the shutdown and don’t cripple the GOP in any meaningful way, it saved the Democrats from another 2024-ish embarrassment — one that would have led to more questions about the party’s direction, especially from large donors, going into 2026. Never mind that it doesn’t look good that assassination-fantasts and intifada-globalizers had a great night; that can be dealt with later. For now, they can focus on actually working to get the government open. Just after the first Tuesday in November.
How utterly, utterly convenient.
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