Health care has achieved top billing in the midterms. It’s the top issue for Democrats and independents, not Republicans, but that’s been more than enough to propel health to the top of the issue list in national polls, even ahead of the economy and jobs, a rare status for health care. Democrats have jumped on the salience health care has for their base, using it as a tool to energize voters and bludgeon Republicans — making 2018 almost the reverse of 2016.
But, the punditocracy and the media have also exaggerated the role health is playing in the midterms. As the table below shows, the top issue is not the same thing as the top factor driving the vote. CONT.
Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation