The 2022 elections will be the first in more than a decade in which the security of the Affordable Care Act is not a central issue as the Republican party casts aside its long-running campaign to repeal the 2010 healthcare law, NBC News reported Oct. 2.
The midterm elections are five weeks away. No Republican Senate nominees running in eight key battleground states have called for unwinding the ACA on their campaign websites, according to NBC News, and the candidates barely mention the law or health insurance policy in general.
At least one Republican candidate in a contested race has commended components of the ACA.
"I'm opposed to repealing the Affordable Care Act," said Joe O'Dea, the Republican candidate facing Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in Colorado. "There were real problems with Obamacare the way it was originally enacted, but a lot of those problems have been addressed by Congress and the courts, and the ACA's protection for individuals with pre-existing conditions was one of the most important reforms passed in a generation."
When asked if he wants to repeal the ACA, Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said, "I don't think about any one bill out there," according to NBC News. He said Republicans should do "a variety of things" about healthcare, like reducing Medicare spending.
Similarly, even Republican lawmakers who still want to see parts of the law rolled back want to reframe the debate away from the ACA and instead focus on a Republican offensive play in which the party sets a healthcare agenda versus reacting to the ACA.