When registered voters were asked to choose the most important issue to their vote in the upcoming midterm election, only 27 percent picked the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to an October poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, even Republicans — the party that has shown the greatest collective opposition to the PPACA — reported the law is no longer a guiding issue. Rather, the PPACA is now just one of many issues for voters of all parties to consider.
The following percentages reflect how voters ranked the importance of nine issues in the upcoming midterm elections, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation Poll.
- The economy and jobs — 38 percent of registered voters said this was an extremely important issue
- Education — 36 percent
- Dissatisfaction with government — 33 percent
- The situation in Iraq and Syria — 31 percent
- The federal budget deficit — 28 percent
- The PPACA — 27 percent
- Immigration — 25 percent
- Taxes — 24 percent
- Climate change — 15 percent
Democrats and Republicans both ranked the PPACA as the fourth most important issue, with 7 percent of Democrats and 11 percent of Republicans choosing the healthcare law as the primary issue, according to KFF.
Beyond typical partisan splits, the PPACA does not seem to be a primary voting factor among voters who reported they feel more enthusiastic about voting this year than in previous elections, according to the WSJ.
The following percentages reflect how the most enthusiastic voters chose the most important issues, according KFF.
- The economy — 21 percent
- Foreign policy and defense — 16 percent
- Healthcare — 14 percent
- The PPACA — 6 percent