Study: Dems avoiding ObamaCare in ads

Democrats are barely mentioning ObamaCare in 2014 political ads related to healthcare, according to a new study. 

Researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 15 percent of Democratic ads on healthcare issues included messaging on the Affordable Care Act. Eleven percent of the ads endorsed the law, while 4 percent opposed it. 

{mosads}Republican campaigns present a different story. Of GOP healthcare ads, 84 percent mentioned ObamaCare — and every ad cast the law in a negative light. 

The findings underscore the healthcare law’s role in shaping the political environment for Tuesday’s midterm elections and point to Democrats’ hesitancy to embrace ObamaCare on the campaign trail. 

The most expensive pro-ObamaCare ads aired by Democrats came from Rep. Joe Garcia (D-Fla.), for an estimated $753,090, and Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), for an estimated $621,780. 

One-third of political spots mentioning the healthcare law took place in competitive Senate races, the study found. 

In total, 650,000 ads mentioned ObamaCare this year, either in the course of promoting health insurance coverage or seeking to sway midterm election votes, according to the study. More than 1.3 million ads mentioned healthcare issues generally. 

Of exclusively political ad campaigns, only 14 percent talked about the Affordable Care Act, researchers said.