Which 8 Democrats voted to end the shutdown filibuster and what are their reelection statuses?

1. What exactly happened in the Senate — the vote and who broke ranks

On Nov. 9–10, 2025 the Senate approved a procedural motion and then a bill that would reopen the government by a 60–40 margin, hitting the 60-vote threshold to overcome the filibuster; multiple outlets report that eight Senate Democrats provided the votes to reach that threshold ^{[1] [5]}. Reports explicitly name several of those Democrats — for example, The Guardian pictures and names Catherine Cortez Masto, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, Tim Kaine and Angus King as among Democrats who voted for the measure ^[6], and POLITICO lists the eight and states that “none are up for reelection in 2026” ^[2].

2. Who the eight Senate Democrats are, per reporting

Major reporting identifies the defecting Senate Democrats as a group that included Tim Kaine, Catherine Cortez Masto, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen and Angus King; POLITICO and other outlets describe the full eight as the party members who joined Republicans to clear the filibuster and advance the compromise funding bill ^{[6] [2] [5]}. The Washington Post and CNN explain that the procedural move and final vote together produced the 60–40 result that ended the shutdown ^{[1] [7]}.

3. Reelection status of those Senate Democrats

POLITICO’s reporting states clearly that “none are up for reelection in 2026,” a detail it repeats while profiling the eight defectors and their calculations ^[2]. Other coverage echoes that the senators who crossed party leadership faced different electoral timetables or had recently run in 2024 ^{[5] [1]}.

4. Why they said they voted that way — stated rationales

The senators who voted to advance the bill framed their choice as responding to immediate economic and constituent harms from the shutdown — citing pain to federal beneficiaries, federal workers, and aid programs — and as the only pragmatic route to secure at least some Democratic priorities ^{[6] [8]}. Reporting also notes party leaders and other Democrats expressed frustration, arguing the defections undermined negotiating leverage ^{[5] [8]}.

5. The House side: a related but smaller group of Democrats crossed the aisle

When the Senate-passed package reached the House, six House Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill there, not eight; Washington Post and The Hill identify those six (Jared Golden, Adam Gray, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Don Davis, Tom Suozzi and Henry Cuellar) and note at least some face tough reelection prospects or have made varied decisions about running again ^{[3] [4]}. The House vote count and names differ from the Senate story and should not be conflated ^[3].

6. Political consequences and differing interpretations in the press

POLITICO frames the Senate defections as politically constrained by election calendars — noting none of the eight face 2026 contests — and suggests that electoral timing shaped the risk calculus ^[2]. Other outlets emphasize policy tradeoffs: CNBC and PBS explain Democrats extracted some concessions (notably a promise to vote on expanded ACA tax credits) and viewed the vote as the only viable path to reopen the government, while critics argue the defections weakened Democratic bargaining leverage ^{[5] [8]}.

7. Limitations and what the available reporting does not say

Available sources do not provide a single, uniform roster that lists all eight Senate defectors by name in one place within the provided collection; some outlets name subsets and POLITICO summarizes the full group and their reelection status ^[2]. Sources do not offer detailed vote-by-vote floor transcripts for every senator within this collection beyond the summary counts and named examples ^{[1] [5]}.

8. Bottom line — what readers should take away

The decisive procedural step that ended the 2025 shutdown relied on eight Senate Democrats voting to overcome the filibuster; reporting highlights their stated motive of relieving constituent harm and securing bargaining gains, and POLITICO reports that none of those eight face reelection in 2026 — a salient political context for understanding their willingness to break with leadership ^{[5] [2]}. Separate but related, six House Democrats later crossed party lines in the House vote to pass the Senate deal, and those House defections carry different electoral dynamics ^{[3] [4]}.