More proof Republicans shouldn't hinge their election hopes on ObamaCare
For the first time ever, a plurality of adults support ObamaCare, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll released Monday. In the survey, 49 percent of Americans said they supported the law, a hair more than the 48 percent who said the opposite.
The finding comes one week after the latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll — the gold standard for health care polling — also found support for ObamaCare rising. Combined, those results should give the GOP some pause as they gear up for the 2014 elections. Since ObamaCare debuted in disastrous fashion last year, Republicans have pinned their election odds to the law, hoping that public anger would translate into big electoral gains for their party. In other words, they hoped the 2014 elections would be a sweeping referendum on ObamaCare, something that now seems less likely.
Republicans still have a sizable edge heading toward November because of the bum economy, Obama's terrible approval rating, and the fact that Democrats simply have more territory to defend. But they'll have to campaign on more than just opposition to ObamaCare if they want to fully cash in on those built-in advantages.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Rosalía and the rise of nunmaniaUnder The Radar It may just be a ‘seasonal spike’ but Spain is ‘enthralled’ with all things nun
-
Magazine solutions - November 14, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 14, 2025
-
Israel jolted by ‘shocking’ settler violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT A wave of brazen attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank has prompted a rare public outcry from Israeli officials
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
