Democrats Are On a Roll as Even Southern Red States Want To Keep Their Obamacare

The roof has officially fallen in on Republicans as a poll of Southern red states has found that in each state people want to keep their Obamacare.

The bad news for Republicans comes via The New York Times:

Despite strong dislike of President Obama’s handling of health care, a majority of people in three Southern states – Kentucky, Louisiana and North Carolina – would rather that Congress improve his signature health care law than repeal and replace it, according to a New York Times Upshot/Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

The poll also found that a majority of Kentucky residents – and a plurality in a fourth state, Arkansas — said they thought the health care marketplace in their state was working well, even as they expressed strong disapproval of the health care law. More than twice as many Kentuckians say their state exchange is working well than say it is not.

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Opposition to the president runs deep in the four states. In Arkansas, for example, 64 percent of respondents said they disapproved of his handling of health care. Still, the poll revealed that 60 percent of people in North Carolina and 52 percent of people in Louisiana and Kentucky would rather the law be made better than taken away. In Arkansas, 48 percent were in favor of improvements and 46 percent for repealing the law and replacing it.

Majorities in the three states polled (Arkansas, Louisana, and North Carolina) that haven’t expanded Medicaid support expanding it. In Arkansas, the majority of Republicans support expanding Medicaid, while only 21% support the state’s use of federal money to buy the poor private insurance.

The support for keeping the ACA goes a long way in explaining whyy Democrats lead or are tied in the Senate races in all four states. Obamacare is becoming a political liability for Republicans. Even voters in red states want access to affordable healthcare.

As the law becomes more successful, Democrats are gaining momentum, and Republican problems are snowballing. Republicans are so dysfunctional that they can’t agree on an alternative plan, so GOP candidates are stuck with running on a position of repeal. Voters, even in red states, don’t want the law repealed.

More and more Democratic candidates are following President Obama’s lead and talking about how the law is working. People across the country already know the law is working because they are getting the benefits. Republicans have been wrong at every turn.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is only running on repealing the ACA. Republicans have no agenda. They have no positions or strategy. If the GOP can’t run successfully against the ACA, they will literally have nothing to campaign on.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) claimed in February that the Republican alternative to Obamacare is almost done, and then he saw the whole thing fall apart as the GOPers couldn’t stop arguing with each other long enough to agree on anything.

Democrats are on a roll, and reeling Republicans have seen their repeal Obamacare legs cut out from under them.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association