Democrats Bet Big on Health Care to Win Virginia Statehouse

Virginia Capitol.

Election day in Virginia's elections that will determine which party controls the Virginia General Assembly is two months from tomorrow and Democrats are stressing that they are the protectors of health care in Virginia as part of their campaign to win control of the House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate.  Meanwhile, many Republicans (Think Del. Chris Jones -R) are lying about their true voting record on Medicaid expansion and are hoping voters have amnesia.  Jones voted four (4) times against Medicaid expansion and only voted for expansion after the Democrat wave in 2017 (you'd never know this from his TV ads that claim he was a "champion" for expansion - he's about as big of a liar as Trump, in my opinion).  The other issue that Democrats will likely stress is the GOP self-prostitution to the gun industry.  A piece in Politico looks at the growing intensity of the lead up to ballots being cast on November 5, 2019.  Here are article highlights:

Virginia Democrats are betting health care will help them take control of the state legislature in November, following their rout of Republicans two years ago that nearly eliminated the GOP’s hold on the Virginia statehouse.

Democrats are already pouring tens of thousands of dollars into ads targeting the health care records of GOP incumbents in newly competitive races, hoping to capitalize on recently redrawn legislative districts seen as more favorable to Democrats. And new polling data says health care ranks high for potential voters.

State lawmakers will face voters for the first time since Virginia adopted Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion in an election that will test whether some of the same pro-Obamacare messaging can work again. The off-year election will be watched closely as a harbinger for 2020, after Virginia’s last statewide elections forecast the mid-term blue wave . . . . Another health care-fueled Democratic victory in Virginia this fall could be a worrying sign for President Donald Trump, who has sought to seize an advantage on health care since failing to replace Obamacare.

Both of Virginia's legislative chambers are up for grabs this fall, with Republicans holding just a razor-thin majority in each chamber. A full Democratic takeover could usher in the most liberal government in Virginia history and empower the party to redraw electoral maps for the state legislature and congressional seats in 2021.

[A] Roanoke College poll last week showed health care ranked as a top issue for potential voters, narrowly behind education and the economy. The poll also showed that Democrats had a slight advantage over Republicans on a generic ballot. The fight for Medicaid expansion, as well as backlash to Trump amid the state’s leftward shift, drove Gov. Ralph Northam’s successful 2017 campaign and helped Democrats nearly retake control of the Virginia House of Delegates. In a replay of that strategy, Democrats are reminding voters that Virginia Republicans, including Cox and Jones, had long opposed Medicaid expansion, which has covered more than 300,000 low-income Virginians since enrollment started last November, and they contend only Democrats can be trusted to preserve the program. In Virginia, though, health care will compete for attention with other high-profile issues Democrats and outside groups will lean on heavily to drive turnout in an off-year election. That includes a push for stricter gun laws after 12 people were killed during an attack in Virginia Beach this May. Rachel Bitecofer, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University, said guns and health care are the two biggest issues for voters in competitive districts Virginia Democrats are trying to flip in November.

A Democrat takeover would mean that Virginia finally moves into the 21st century and that legislation long blocked by the Virginia GOP will see likely passage.  If you live in Virginia, make sure you are registered to vote and go out and vote a straight Democrat ticket in November.