An amendment to a healthcare bill that would create a single-payer healthcare system was defeated 57-0 Thursday in the Senate.

Several Democrats voted against the amendment, including Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana and Angus King of Maine, an Independent. All 52 Republicans voted "no" and other Democrats voted "present," meaning that they like the proposal but believe it has flaws.

The vote occurred during the amendment phase as the Senate considers legislation that would repeal Obamacare. During this phase, senators can offer hundreds of amendments to change the bill.

The amendment was introduced by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and was a copy of a single-payer bill that has been introduced in the House by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and has more than 100 Democratic co-sponsors. Often dubbed "Medicare for all," the proposal has gained traction among more left-leaning Democrats. The healthcare system would be paid for by raising income taxes on the top 5 percent of earners and raising taxes on payroll and self-employment income, unearned income, and stock and bond transactions.

Daines does not support a single-payer healthcare system, but he presented the amendment to force Democratic senators running for re-election in 2018 to take a position on the policy. Most Democrats voted "present" as a way to object to the political maneuver.

They did so at the urging of Conyers, who in a statement noted that single-payer healthcare has been growing in popularity and said that he would want his bill to have open hearings and input from experts, a route that is different from the one Republicans took on their healthcare plan.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., made a similar appeal to Democrats. He said he would not support the "sham" amendment, particularly since the Senate is in the dark about what is in the healthcare bill being debated. Sanders went on to say that he hopes the U.S. will join other developed nations in implementing a single-payer system.

Sanders long called for a "Medicare for all" approach to healthcare, a proposal he campaigned on when running for the Democratic nomination for president against Hillary Clinton.