The Health Law Factors Heavily Into Senate Political Calculations
Vulnerable Senate Democrats may seek chances to vote on efforts to fix the overhaul, CQ HealthBeat reports; while the New York Times examines where GOP candidates need to win.
CQ HealthBeat: Senate Democrats Might Vote On Fixes In The Health Care Law
Senate Democrats, who have the most to lose from the lingering negative feelings about the health care law, may have the chance to cast votes on fixing the overhaul this year. The votes would give vulnerable Democrats the opportunity to go on the record as trying to help constituents who have been affected by the law’s requirements or its troubled rollout (Ethridge, 1/29).
The New York Times: Unpopularity Of The House Could Turn Senate Races
Republicans start this election year with the strongest hand they have had since 2010: a Democratic president with weak approval ratings, an economy still struggling to spread the benefits of a slow recovery, the disastrous rollout of President Obama’s health care law, contested races for six Democratically held Senate seats in states carried by Mitt Romney, and the historical pattern that the party controlling the White House loses seats in a second midterm. But to take control of the Senate, Republicans need to net six seats, and they will probably need to do it with candidates currently serving in House seats in Montana, Louisiana, Arkansas, West Virginia and Georgia (Weisman, 1/29).