For those who want to unseat U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, one strategy has prevailed from the start: Bind him to President Obama and the Affordable Care Act. A new ad from Republican challenger Dan Sullivan is typical of that approach.
“….Mark Begich votes with Obama 97 percent of the time. For ObamaCare….”
But Begich, in a new radio ad running statewide, is taking the politically risky tactic of embracing the unpopular law.
“Before the healthcare law was passed one third of Alaskans who tried to get individual policies were denied for preexisting conditions and other reasons.”
The ad says Begich is working to fix the law and make coverage more affordable. Obama is especially unpopular in Alaska. A national polling firm last month found 56 percent of Alaskans disapprove of the job the president’s doing, while a Dittman poll put the figure at 65 percent. The minute-long Begich ad never uses the words “Obama,” “ObamaCare” or the “Affordable Care Act.”
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
