To win the Republican primary, the three Senate hopefuls must bash the plan signed by Obama. Against Boxer in the fall, the nominee will have to adopt a more moderate stance.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/la-me-senate-healthcare-20100505,0,6894034.storyRepublican candidates across the nation are confident that opposition to President Obama's healthcare law will deliver them electoral victories. But in California, the three GOP Senate candidates vying to take on Sen. Barbara Boxer face a much more daunting task: convincing a majority of Californians who support the bill that they are wrong.
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Their stance aligns them with the state's registered Republicans. In a recent L.A. Times/USC poll, 59% of registered Republicans surveyed said they would be less likely to support a candidate who supported the healthcare legislation.
But come November, the Republican nominee will need independent and Democratic voters if he or she is to defeat Boxer. About 46% of California voters surveyed in the same poll said they would be more likely to vote for a politician who had supported the health bill, while 29% said they would not. Just over half said they believed the country would be better off because of the package.
Democratic operatives, who began laying the groundwork last year for challenging GOP candidates about the bill, are counting on this belief.
"We will absolutely hold Republicans accountable for looking voters in the eye and making it clear they want to kick people off health insurance, reinstate the doughnut hole for seniors, eliminate tax credits for small businesses and restore preexisting conditions," said Eric Schultz, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "If Carly Fiorina or anyone else is going to make that argument, then good luck to her."
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