Maybe ObamaCare is popular overseas — but even its Kentucky “success” story is turning bitter:
One survey conducted in late October, weeks after the exchange went online, found that while Beshear is personally popular, only 25 percent of Kentucky residents have a favorable opinion of Obamacare; 65 percent have an unfavorable opinion. The law polls slightly better when it’s called the “Affordable Care Act,” but it’s still underwater, by a 31–48 margin. Only 37 percent said Kentucky is moving in the right direction, compared with 46 percent who said the state is on the wrong track.
Just last week, voters in western Kentucky’s seventh state-house district had the opportunity to weigh in via a special election to replace a Democratic member who resigned in September. They narrowly elected Republican Suzanne Miles, a result that took both parties by surprise, especially the GOP. Democrats had held the seat for decades, and they enjoyed a significant registration advantage. Republicans are now just five seats shy of controlling the state house for the first time since 1921.
That Miles win might prove to be the same kind of leading indicator as Scott Brown’s special election four years ago.
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