Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is leaning hard into his political instincts in a bid to preserve his party's tenuous hold on the chamber — and provide election talking points for Democrats in Congress and beyond.
Why it matters: With Democrats' razor-thin, 51-49 majority on the line in November, Schumer is relying on a barrage of "show votes" on issues such as immigration and abortion to draw a sharp contrast with Republicans.
- The approach provided political cover for President Biden, who unveiled an executive order cracking down on illegal border crossings only after Schumer forced Republicans to reject a bipartisan border bill for a second time.
- Biden's handling of immigration at the border has become one of his biggest vulnerabilities this election cycle.
Schumer now is running an offensive to make Republicans take a series of uncomfortable votes on reproductive rights.
- Republicans blocked a bill on Wednesday that would guarantee access to birth control measures, and Schumer set up another vote next week on protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF) access — an issue many Republicans have rallied around.
- Abortion and reproductive rights have proved to be a powerful issue for Democrats at the polls since the Supreme Court struck down abortion rights under Roe v. Wade.
- Schumer and Democrats hope that reminding voters of Republicans' opposition to abortion rights will help juice the party's turnout in November.
What they're saying: Schumer's tactics are unlikely to result in much legislative progress in the coming months, but Democrats in tough re-election races tell Axios that they've been helpful.
- "Having a debate and a vote on probably the most important border bill in at least a decade is important for the country," Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.), who is facing Republican Dave McCormick in a key battleground state, told Axios. "The same is true on contraception and IVF."
- Another vulnerable Democrat, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), said votes on those topics serve a purpose beyond politics, even if the underlying bills don't become law: "It's important because women need to make their own health care decisions."
- "It's important for people to know where people are on the issues that they care about. So that's what these votes are all about," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
The other side: Republicans have bashed Schumer's strategy as overtly political, even as the messaging votes have sparked heated internal debate over the best strategy for defending against them.
- Some GOP members now want to turn the tables on Schumer by voting "yes" on future messaging bills — and then demanding votes on amendments that underscore their own political priorities.
Zoom in: Democrats are defending nine highly competitive Senate seats this cycle, compared to two slightly less competitive seats Republicans are defending — and immigration is an issue the GOP is counting on to help it take control of the Senate.
- Democratic senators have faced incessant Republican attacks over the surge in migrants at the southern border, to the point where some have sought to distance themselves from Biden on the issue.
- Tester last month became the first Democrat to sign on to a GOP bill that would detain and deport undocumented immigrants who commit theft-related crimes.
Zoom out: Schumer has been forging his message-driven approach as far back as his first job in leadership, running the DSCC during the party's wildly successful 2006 cycle.
- Then-President George W. Bush, a Republican, memorably dubbed those midterm elections a "thumping" by Democrats. Those elections gave Deomcrats control of the Senate, paved the way for Rep. Pelosi (D-Calif.) to be speaker, and were followed two years later by Democrat Barack Obama winning the presidency.
- Schumer's messaging campaign this year comes as Democrats are rolling out a swing-state blitz promoting reproductive rights.
