Is Obamacare Helping Some GOP Governors?

Sam Wang notes that Republican governors who supported Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion are being rewarded for it in recent polls.

“According to these data points, Republican governors who bucked their party’s stance and accepted the policy are faring better with voters–in these races, an average of 8.5 percentage points better. Considering that crusading against Obamacare has been a core part of the G.O.P. playbook, this 8.5-point difference may come as a surprise. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that voters’ sentiments are driven entirely by health-care policy. Think of the Medicaid expansion as a ‘proxy variable,’ one that is predictive of stands on many other issues.”