The Affordable Care Act, or what proponents and opponents refer to as Obamacare, President Obama’s signature achievement, has long been unpopular with Republicans. Now, independents seem to be unhappy with the law as well. A recent CNN poll suggests that only 7 percent of independents would keep the law as is.
With midterm elections just weeks away, Democrats seeking office have been keeping their distance from the highly unpopular law -- which in August reached a new low in popularity -- perhaps in an effort to win over swing and independent voters.
Georgia State Senator and Democratic candidate for governor Jason Carter is one such candidate who has gone on record to criticize Obamacare:
"Anybody who looks at the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare or whatever you want to call it, has to recognize that it's a mess," - Jason Carter said.
And if one time wasn’t enough...
"Again, Obamacare right now is a mess, no doubt about it," he said a second time. "It's a mess. We have to do something."
Georgia is a state where 86 percent of voters weigh a candidate’s view on Obamacare as a very important factor in their vote. Jason Carter’s refusal to strictly align himself with Obama on the health care law may help him win over this essential part of the electorate, especially when
4 in 10 Georgians (40 percent) now identify as independent as of October 10, 2014.
Whether or not Carter will be able to appeal to these voters, who have historically opposed the Affordable Care Act, remains to be seen.
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) has made multiple inaccurate attempts to paint Carter as an avid supporter of Obamacare, in order to support Carter’s Republican opponent, incumbent Governor Nathan Deal.
Most recently, the RGA attempted to achieve this in a $500,000 ad buy. Similarly, Carter’s opponent has focused heavily on his anti-Obamacare stance. Other Democrats shying away from Obama’s Affordable Care Act are Louisiana U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, who
criticized Obama in a recent ad, and Arkansas U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, who avoided using the term “Obamacare” or “Affordable Care Act” altogether in his recent campaign ads.
U.S. Senator Mark Begich from Alaska went so far as to say the Obama administration “dropped the ball” on the rollout of Obamacare.
When only 36 percent of Democratic candidates have expressed support for the health care policy, it’s clear that Obamacare has become toxic in the eyes of voters and candidates alike.