Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Democratic-aligned groups are launching ads and pushing messaging memos aimed at pressuring moderate House Republicans on GOP plans to overhaul Medicaid.
Why it matters: The goal is to portray vulnerable Republicans as eager to cut low-income Americans' health care ahead of the next election cycle.
State of play: The House Majority PAC released a memo Tuesday that says Republicans have gone "full Matt Bevin" and are planning to make deep cuts to Medicaid to fund tax cuts for billionaires.
- Bevin is the former Kentucky GOP governor who tried to overhaul Medicaid in the state, including via work requirements, but then lost reelection to current Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
- "The cuts currently pushed by House Republicans will be a defining issue in 2026," the memo reads.
- It outlines how many children and adults in certain swing House districts have Medicaid coverage, with 36% to 78% of children in the districts on Medicaid.
Protect Our Care also started putting up billboards beginning Tuesday in swing districts, and is launching TV and online ads protesting Medicaid cuts.
- The group is spending almost $1 million on what it calls the "Hands Off Medicaid" campaign.
- "As members go home, they will be confronting a critical message: hands off Medicaid," Protect Our Care chair Leslie Dach said in a statement.
The bottom line: Democrats are still trying to find their political footing, and it remains to be seen whether these tactics will resonate with the public.
