WASHINGTON (TNND) — The decision by a handful of Senate Democrats has roiled the party and sparked fierce backlash against it for giving up the fight against President Donald Trump and Republicans in the shutdown standoff but is just the start of the larger battle to win control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections.

Every Senate Democrat up for reelection next year voted against the package to end the shutdown and some have criticized the decision and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for failing to dissuade the handful of Democrats from breaking ranks. The decision to reopen the government has also received backlash from candidates in Democratic primaries for Senate seats.

“It is a bleak morning for millions of American families because last night some Senate Democrats caved. They caved and voted with Republicans and now up to 20 million Americans are going to watch their health care premiums double, triple and, in some cases, quadruple,” Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner said in a video clip his campaign posted on X.

Centrist candidates and lawmakers also joined in on the vehement opposition to the deal.

“Any deal that lets health care costs continue to skyrocket is unacceptable,” said Roy Cooper, a former Democratic governor of North Carolina who is now running for Senate.

Each of the eight lawmakers who broke ranks with the rest of the party are retiring or are not up for reelection this year. Angus King of Maine, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada have voted to reopen the government since the shutdown started. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, along with Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, are both retiring at the end of their terms.

Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, are not on the ballot this cycle.

How the shutdown ended is subject to intense internal debate within the Democratic Party, but there are few indications that voters will be prioritizing it by the time next year’s midterm elections roll around with control of Congress on the line.

“Activists will certainly remember it, people that are habitually online will remember it for sure. I don't know about your average American that's just concerned about SNAP benefits and the like,” said Rob Alexander, a political science professor at Bowling Green.

“A lot can change between now and November of next year, but the economy is in (Trump’s) hands, and as the economy goes, that will be the winds of the 2026 election.”

Some Democrats felt last week’s sweeping victories in the off-year elections were a signal voters wanted them to stand up to the administration and that they should hold out until Republicans and the White House agreed to concessions on the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies at the center of the shutdown. The government funding deal, which only includes the promise of a Senate vote on the issue in December, did not provide the policy victory they were advocating for.

But it did succeed in bringing the issue of the expiring subsidies to the forefront as Americans with marketplace insurance start to get hit with renewal notices that come with expensive premium increases. The December vote on them could also provide Democrats with another opportunity to hit Republicans on the issue as a broader critique of their handling of affordability.

Trump’s approval rating on his handling of the economy has slumped as his second term has gone on as inflation has lingered and his tranche of tariffs on nearly every major trading partner has stirred fears of more price increases and an economic slowdown. Exit polling from last week’s elections also found voters were making decisions on who to vote for primarily behind frustrations over the cost of living.

In the days since the elections, Trump and the White House have tried to get back to a message about how his administration is improving affordability and that his signature tariffs and tax cuts will improve the economy moving forward. But the messaging is running into a frustrated public confronting persistent inflation, including on groceries and utilities that are overriding most everything else.

It is a similar dynamic that faced Democrats during the 2024 election cycle, when frustration with the Biden administration and other Democrats over rampant inflation and failures to improve the cost of living helped result in a Republican trifecta in Washington. Democrats will move into 2026 with a similar environment, especially in a midterm cycle that has historically worked strongly against the party in the White House.

“The larger picture is that all of these types of issues are going to be hung on Republicans right now. One of the things that appears to have broken through is that we don't have divided government, we have unified government and pretty much anything you don't like about government at this moment can be laid at the hands of Republicans,” Alexander said.