What follows is a chart of all 55 members of the Democratic Senate caucus, listed by seniority. The senators in red were, according to the best information available to me during the fight (1), opposed to the talking filibuster. The senators in green were in favor:



The 11 members of the Democratic Senate caucus with more than 20 years of seniority opposed the talking filibuster by a 6-5 margin.

The 44 members of the Democratic Senate caucus with less than 20 years of seniority favored the talking filibuster by a 42-2 margin.

The eight opponents—Sens. Leahy, Baucus, Levin, Reid, Feinstein, Boxer, Pryor and Manchin—form a pretty odd grouping in when it comes to factors like ideology or geography. However, their seniority paints a clear picture of what happened to the talking filibuster:

Even if we didn't win last week, with 75 percent of the opposition to the silent filibuster coming from a small group of senators who have served for 20 years or more, the era of the silent filibuster is coming to an end.

This is another reason why I am significantly more optimistic about the outcome of this round of the filibuster reform fight than most of the more than one million activists who took part. Not only did we not come away empty handed, and not only have we come incredibly far in a few short years, but there is simply no way we lose in the long run.

All of this may be small comfort during the nomination and legislative fights we will face over the next two to four years. However, I firmly believe there will come a time, not long from now, when the silent filibuster is gone, the burden on filibusters is flipped, and Democrats control the House, the Senate, and the White House. When that happens, we are going to make some great achievements in progressive governance, many of which will be due to the efforts so many of you have already put in toward reforming the filibuster.

(1) The "best information available to me" is based on what will remain anonymous sources close to the fight, and as such should be taken with a grain of salt. While I used this information to determine our targeting during the campaign for the talking filibuster, I am aware it may not have been 100 percent accurate. In publishing this information, I take personal responsibility for any errors it may contain.