In 2010, opposition to the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act helped fuel the tea party wave that led to Republicans flipping the House. Eight years later, it was opposition to the Republican efforts to repeal that law that contributed to a Democratic takeover of the chamber.
Now, months after a bruising election that saw Donald Trump and Republicans swept back into power, Democrats are seeking to revive that playbook ahead of the 2026 midterms, accusing Republicans of targeting Medicaid to help finance their legislative agenda.
“In 2018, there was a clear lesson: taking away healthcare from Americans is a punishable offense and will cause you to lose your job,” Meredith Kelly, a partner at Declaration Media who worked at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during that cycle, said in an email. “But clearly, House Republicans are either too ignorant or too loyal to Donald Trump to learn from their past mistakes, and they will surely pay the price next November.”
