Vulnerable Democrats campaign on opioids, drug prices – By Caitlyn Owens (axios.com) / June 4 2018
Vulnerable Senate Democrats have found a common villain: the pharmaceutical industry. They’re highlighting both drug prices and the opioid epidemic as they try to make their cases to voters.
The big picture: Democrats already think health care is a strong issue for them this year, given the unpopularity of the GOP’s repeal and replace effort. Opioids and drug prices both resonate deeply with voters, and some Democratic incumbents do have long track records on one or both issues.
Why now:
Tackling the opioid epidemic and reducing the cost of prescription drugs are unifying issues, and pharmaceutical companies — which are deeply unpopular with voters — are the shared target.
-“Both are key planks for red state Democrats,” said Jim Manley, a former aide to Sen. Harry Reid. “On opioids they can brag about the money they voted for. On [prescription] drugs they can use the issue to bang up on Republicans.”
What they’re saying:
-Many Democrats up for re-election in the Senate — including Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Claire McCaskill of Missouri — represent states that have been hit hard by the epidemic. They’ve cosponsored a long list of bills, and taken other actions, on the issue.
-For some members, it’s personal. Sen. Tammy Brown of Wisconsin has released an ad in which she speaks about her mother’s prescription drug addiction.
-Tina Smith, who replaced Al Franken earlier this year and is up for re-election in Minnesota, targeted her first-ever bill at lowering drug prices.
-The opioid epidemic and drug prices “have been major topics on the campaign. Those issues seem to come up at nearly every stop,” said Max Steele, a spokesman for Casey’s campaign.
Access to treatment is the way this ties back to an attack on the GOP health plan: “Even as Americans are grappling with the horrific opioid epidemic, Republicans are running on a health care agenda that increases costs and slashes access for drug addiction treatment and prevention services,” said David Bergstein, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
-Last year, the DSCC ran a series of ads in states where vulnerable Democrats are up for re-election highlighting how the GOP health plan could jeopardize addiction treatment. It’s likely that this comes up again.
The other side: Some of these Democratic incumbents are up against challengers who also have a record of fighting the opioid epidemic, including state attorneys general like Patrick Morrisey in West Virginia and Josh Hawley in Missouri.
-The popularity of the two issues creates liabilities for candidates who have a questionable history with pharmaceutical companies. This has already been problematic for both Manchin and Morrisey in West Virginia.
In the House, Republicans in swing districts are the ones pointing to their votes tackling the opioid epidemic.
