Democrats who are facing tough challenges in swing states across the country followed their party line on the Tax Reform vote last Friday.
Three of those “No” votes came from candidates from states that were carried by President Trump in 2016.
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) toed the line with party leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in voting against the Senate’s tax reform bill.
All three Democrats represent states that President Trump won in the 2016 election, with Heitkamp probably being the most vulnerable. Her state of North Dakota gave Trump an overwhelming 36 point victory over rival Hillary Clinton.
Each of these states state also has Republican control over their respective statewide legislatures, and each currently has a Republican governor.
Baldwin, Heitkamp, and Stabenow seem to know tax reform could be a big issue in the coming election, as have each spoken about their desire to reform the tax code and make it simpler for Americans.
However, each of them chose to vote against the current tax reform proposal, and instead fell back on Democratic talking points.
Republican challengers have been quick to highlight these ‘no’ votes.
Kevin Nicholson, one of Baldwin’s toughest challengers, has been circulating a petition calling for her to “do what’s right” and vote for tax reform.
“Tax reform is good for every Wisconsin family. With less regulation, you’ll be able to keep more of your hard-earned money, and put it towards expenses you know are important,” the petition reads.
“Even though Tammy Baldwin talks about how great all of these things are, her vote against tax reform shows she always puts party politics ahead of Wisconsin families.”
While the fight for tax reform isn’t over, both bills from the House and Senate are set to go to a conference committee and have their differences ironed out, we’ll see if any of these vulnerable Democrats switch to a ‘yes’ vote from this outside pressure.
