GOP senator in tight race doubles down on ObamaCare attacks

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is ramping up attacks against ObamaCare in the final days of his reelection fight this fall.

Blunt’s campaign committee released an ad Friday hitting his opponent, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, for a “liberal agenda to expand Obamacare.”

{mosads}He also penned a sharply critical op-ed in the Springfield News Leader last week, in which he said his state “shouldn’t be penalized for the president’s failure to live up to his promises.”

Missouri is among about a dozen battleground states where ObamaCare customers are expected to see rising premium rates and shrinking insurance options this November — just in time for Election Day.

About 85 percent of counties in Missouri will have only one insurer this fall, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. State regulators have not yet announced next year’s premium rate hike. If premiums rise substantially, it could deliver a last-minute boost to Blunt at the polls.

Public opinion of ObamaCare, which was officially launched four years ago, remains staunchly divided along political lines and has proven an effective campaign attack by the GOP over the last several election cycles.  

Blunt’s ad is one of only a handful this election cycle to focus squarely on the healthcare law even as double-digit premium hikes and dwindling competition make headlines nationally.

Kander, who doesn’t specifically outline his healthcare platform on his campaign website, has said little about ObamaCare throughout the race.

Instead, Blunt’s ad links Kander to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The former secretary of State has been vocal in her calls to “build on” ObamaCare with a government-run public option and bigger subsidies.

“Premiums are going up and healthcare choices are going down,” Blunt said in the ad. “Jason Kander follows the Hillary Clinton liberal agenda to expand Obamacare, and that will only make these problems worse.”