Health Law Unpopular in Key House Districts
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By JANET ADAMY
A majority of likely voters in the most competitive House districts support repealing the Democrats' health overhaul, according to recent polling data.The figures are one of the sharpest signals yet that Democrats are unlikely to translate their signature legislative achievement into success inside the voting booth. The health bill passed in March is particularly unpopular in the districts that matter most in the Republicans' effort to retake the House.
Some of the most embattled House Democrats are the five moderates who voted "yes" on the final health-care bill after voting "no" on the House version in November 2009.
Associated Press
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D., N.D.), right, and his Republican opponent, Rick Berg, before a debate in Bismarck.
One of his ads had blasted his opponent, Republican Rick Berg, for "listening to big insurance, not to us." On Mr. Berg's campaign site, he says the "Obama-Pomeroy nationalized healthcare bill does nothing to lower our costs."
With the election days away, Mr. Pomeroy has dropped that ad and is striking a more muted tone. "I know I've disappointed you with a vote here or there," Mr. Pomeroy tells the camera. "But you can always count on the fact that I do what I do for the right reason, for the people of North Dakota."
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According to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 52% of respondents said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to give the health law a chance to work and then make changes to it as needed, while 45% said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to repeal the law entirely and start over.
But in the 92 House districts considered most competitive, that support flipped, with 42% voting for the candidate who wanted to keep the law and 55% voting for the candidate who wanted it repealed.
Those districts on the whole were friendlier to Republicans to begin with, and they have seen a torrent of advertisements against the law, said Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the Journal poll.
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For Republicans, "this is a motivating factor for them to get out there and vote," said Peter Hart, the Democratic pollster who conducted the Journal poll with Mr. McInturff. The poll of 1,000 registered voters was taken Oct. 14-18.
A White House spokesman, Nick Papas, said the numbers weren't surprising because he said special-interest groups that oppose the law have spent more than $100 million on ads that he described as misinformation.
Republicans appear likely to win back control of the House, and they have pledged that one of their first moves will be voting to repeal the law designed to extend health-care insurance to 32 million additional people in the U.S. The Senate, should it remain in Democrats' control, and ultimately the White House would almost surely block any such move, but Republicans could attempt to choke off funding to implement the law.
On the state level, victories by Republican governors could lead more states to turn away funding to enact the law, as Minnesota's Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty has done.
Write to Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com
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