The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is betting big that the Affordable Care Act will be a drag on Democrats in New Hampshire.
The Chamber will begin airing a campaign ad Saturday highlighting Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s vote in favor of Obamacare.
Shaheen, who is seeking a second term, is leading Republican challenger Scott Brown, the former Senator from Massachusetts, by about five points.
Obamacare has largely been set aside by GOP candidates as a top talking point against Democrats, but polls show the law is largely unpopular.
The most recent survey, conducted by CBS News and the New York Times, found 41 percent in favor of the law and 51 percent opposed to it.
The nation’s discontent over the law is based in part on cancellation of individual insurance policies that do not meet the coverage requirements of the new healthcare law.
Shaheen, who was elected in 2008, voted along with all Senate Democrats to approve the healthcare law on Dec. 24, 2009.
The chamber ad zeroes in on Shaheen’s support of Obama’s pledge at the time that plans would not be cancelled under the law.
“Senators are meant to be a check and balance on the White House, but in voting for Obamacare Jeanne Shaheen parroted the Obama administration’s promise,” the ad proclaims.
The ad includes a quote from Obama from November 2013, in which he concedes, “The pledge I made…unequivocally ended up not being accurate.”
The ad said that because of the failed pledge, “New Hampshire families and seniors are left to face the consequences. Say no to Jeanne Shaheen and the Obama agenda.”
Shaheen said she voted for the law, “because she believes it is an important first step to making essential changes to our health care system,” and “recognizes that more work needs to be done to make care affordable and accessible.”
