Progressive leaders and healthcare advocates organize events such as Drive for Our Lives, a weeks-long national bus tour targeting swing states for 2018 election

In the early hours of Friday morning, as Republican senators began voting on a healthcare bill that would have repealed pieces of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more than 200 protesters outside the Capitol chanted “Shame! Shame! Shame!”

'Wait for the show': how John McCain helped torpedo the Republican health plan Read more

The chants reverberated through the halls of the Senate. Then they turned into cheers. John McCain – the decisive holdout – voted against the bill. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski had already voted “no”. McCain sealed its fate.

Republican failure to fulfill seven years of promises to repeal and replace the ACA can be blamed on a number of factors – a divided party, a risky leadership strategy, a disengaged president. History. But not least among them was the role of legions of grassroots activists. They jammed lawmakers’ telephone lines, they confronted them at political town halls. They protested the many versions of the bill in states around the country.

Those who gathered outside the US Capitol on Friday morning and those who watched nervously across the country hailed the moment as a “victory” as unlikely as it was welcome. Just six months ago, when Trump became president and Republicans held both houses of Congress, it had seemed unlikely that they could ever break into the debate.

Elizabeth Warren, the liberal senator from Massachusetts, rushed outside to the rally. “The nightmare is over,” she said, to deafening applause.

“At least for now.”

Ben Wikler (@benwikler) The last six months have been terrifying & lonely for a LOT of people. Today is a chance to see each other & remember we're in this together

Heeding her warning that that Republicans could still revive their healthcare reform effort, activists across the country planned to take to the streets in nearly 150 cities and 40 states on Saturday.

The events, organized by liberal groups and healthcare advocates, were expected to include more than 100 rallies, the largest of which was expected in Washington near the White House. A flash mob, a 24-hour vigil and a march were also planned.

“We just won an important battle in the fight for millions of Americans’ healthcare, but our fight continues,” said Tim Hogan, spokesman for Our Lives on the Line, the group organizing the protests.

“The resistance showed up – we called, we came to meetings, we rallied in the rain, and last night we won a critical victory in the fight to protect our care. But we know that President Trump and [Senate majority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell’s reckless determination to imperil the wellbeing of millions of Americans has not gone away.

“They remain dedicated to repealing the law even if it means sabotaging your care or scheming behind closed doors in the process. We’re not waiting for their next attack.”

In Los Angeles on Saturday, a group of organizations were to kick off the Drive for Our Lives, a weeks-long national bus tour set to run through August. Progressive leaders and healthcare advocates will join the tour along the way, including former health secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who oversaw the rollout of the ACA; South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg; and former Missouri secretary of state Jason Kander. The bus will stop in swing states where Democrats hope to win congressional races in 2018, including Nevada, Arizona and Colorado.

Additionally, organizers are launching the Health Care Voter, an initiative in advance of the midterms that aims to ramp up opposition to lawmakers who supported Republican repeal efforts.

The breadth and scale of protests against the Republican healthcare bills helped create a politically toxic environment around the debate. Activists were relentless.

In the weeks and days leading up to the vote, the Capitol police arrested dozens of protesters who refused to leave senators’ offices. Democrats spoke at rallies on the Capitol lawn. Another group of activists turned up with coffee to “wake up” Republican senators and remind them of the impact of repealing the law.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Healthcare activists protest in the office of Senator Jeff Flake earlier in July. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters

On Tuesday, a group of protesters were removed from the Capitol after chanting “Don’t kill us! Kill the bill” as Republicans voted to open debate.

The effort was largely organized by liberal and progressive groups associated with the so-called resistance, a movement opposed to Trump’s agenda. But it also attracted first-time activists and supporters from across the political spectrum. The various plans offered by Republicans would have left anywhere from 15 million to 32 million people without health insurance by 2026.

“Nearly every Republican in House and Senate has now voted to strip care from tens of millions of people & gut Medicaid,” Ben Wikler, Washington director of MoveOn.org, told supporters on Twitter.

“Show u won’t forget ... and show that the electoral consequences of that kind of betrayal are massive & will only grow if they try again.”