Dive summary:
- TV advertising spending surrounding the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is expected to reach $500 million through next year in anticipation of the 2014 midterm elections.
- That $500 million brings the total spent on one political topic to about $1 billion, breaking all records; the overwhelming majority of the ads will be speaking out against Obamacare if current trends stay true.
- The ads are less focused on repealing the act and more about hammering opponents using this controversial issue as the focus.
From the article:
"And unlike the 2012 elections, Democrats will not stay mum on the ACA, said Jennifer Duffy, senior analyst for the Cook Political Report.
'Democrats will have no choice but to respond to GOP attacks on ACA this cycle,' Ms. Duffy said. 'No Democratic Senate incumbent who voted for health-care reform has said that they regret their vote, but several have questioned parts of it more recently. This suggests that Democrats know it will be a liability this cycle.'"
