Many Democrats in California have supported a single-payer healthcare proposal, and Republicans running for office across the state are using that support against their opponents, according to The Hill.
There are seven Republican-held U.S. House seats in California that Democrats are looking to flip in 2018. Democrats in five of those districts support single-payer legislation, which some Republicans say is out of touch with the districts' centrist voter base.
"The anger of the Democratic base against the president is pushing the party aggressively leftward," Michael Steel, a Republican political consultant, told The Hill. "That's going to leave them with a lot of candidates who aren’t a good fit for their districts."
Democrats are hoping that by promising expanded access to healthcare they will win votes, but it’s yet to be determined how a media push by Republicans will affect the public’s perception of that expanded access, The Hill reports.
"I don't think we've yet seen the Republican media apparatus really make a concerted effort to demonize Medicare for all the way they did with Obamacare, and when that happens, I think the public opinion is going to change," a Democratic strategist told The Hill.