Doug Jones’ shocking win in Alabama might have changed the political landscape, but when one compares his victory to those on Election Day last month, there’s at least one striking similarity: health care. In November, candidates up and down the ballot in Virginia and Maine, Georgia and New Hampshire, ran on the expansion of health care and won. In Alabama, Doug Jones was deemed a “proud supporter of Obamacare,” loudly rejected GOP attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and made funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program the first policy mentioned in his victory speech. In short, despite the swirl of other issues, in Alabama, health care won again.
Health Care Was A Top Issue In The Election. “Using Google data, we can see the top-searched issue in almost every Alabama county when it comes to the U.S. Senate race in Alabama. The data covers five topics: immigration, crime, sexual harassment, abortion and healthcare… Healthcare follows crime in the list of most-searched topics in Alabama’s Senate race. That’s especially true in Marengo County, where a whopping 62 percent of Senate-related searches have to do with healthcare… There are four counties where Senate-related searches are evenly divided between crime and healthcare.” [AL.com, 11/29/17]
Doug Jones Was Labeled A “Proud Supporter Of Obamacare.” “Alabama Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones argued at a rally over the past weekend that ‘We’ve got to quit playing political football’ over whether to repeal Obamacare. Jones’ Republican competitor Judge Roy Moore said that he will ‘vote to repeal Obamacare.’ … The Roy Moore campaign has continued to label Doug Jones a ‘proud supporter of Obamacare.’ [Breitbart, 12/11/17]
Doug Jones: “I Am Disturbed About Repeated Repeal Efforts.” “On his campaign website, he declares that ‘health care is a right’ and praised former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
‘I am disturbed about repeated efforts to repeal the bill or weaken it, leaving as many as 32 million more Americans without insurance, driving up rates for others and likely leading to the closure of more rural health care facilities vital in many regions of Alabama. That is a nonstarter,’ Jones says on his website.” [CNN, 11/27/17]
Doug Jones: Repeal And Replace “Not Something That’s Workable.” “As he emphasized his concern over the national health care debate, Jones made clear that eliminating Obamacare is not the solution. And voters, he said, shouldn’t be led into thinking that it is. ‘Repeal and replace is a political slogan,’ Jones said. ‘It’s not something that’s workable.’ After Republican politicians promised voters they would replace Obamacare once President Obama left office, they have failed so far to do so. Jones said the Affordable Care Act needs to be improved and that’s where the energy should be spent – not on doing away with it altogether.” [AL.com, 12/5/17]
Doug Jones Made Clear He Opposed Repealing The ACA, Pledged To “Fix” Health Care. “Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones released a new TV campaign ad on Monday, focusing on his pledge to help ‘fix’ the problems in health care while attacking Republican opponent Roy Moore. ‘If it’s broken, fix it,’ Jones said as the ad begins. ‘Health care, it’s broken. You know it and I know it. But Roy Moore’s grandstanding and extreme views will do nothing to fix it and his policies will take us back to the past.’ … Jones also said he opposes abolishing the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, but said there are problems within the national health care law that need to be repaired.” [AL.com, 11/6/17]
Doug Jones Attacked Roy Moore Over The CHIP Program. “Democratic Senate nominee Doug Jones has accused Republican nominee Roy Moore of refusing to support renewal of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides insurance to about 150,000 children in the state. ‘Alabamians need leaders who will place a priority on improving the health care of all citizens, children and seniors,’ the Jones campaign said in a statement Wednesday.” [Montgomery Advertiser, 11/3/17]
Health Care Was The First Policy Jones Brought Up In His Victory Speech. “Jones thanked the volunteers who ‘knocked on 300,000 doors’ and made ‘1.2 million phone calls’ on his behalf, and said he’s ready to go to Washington to work on health care, particularly funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).” [The Week, 12/12/17]
Doug Jones Called On Congress To Re-Authorize CHIP “Before I Get Up There.” “So I – I have a challenge. I have a challenge to my future colleagues in Washington. Don’t wait on me… Take this opportunity, in light of this election, and go ahead and fun that CHIP program before I get up there. Put it aside and let’s do it for those million kids and 150,000 here in Birmingham.” [New York Times, 12/12/17]