Politico: Why ‘Medicare for all’ is playing poorly in Democratic primaries

Most of the prominent Democrats eyeing 2020 presidential bids — including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — champion the idea of “Medicare for all,” suggesting it’s become almost a litmus test for the party’s base.

But the notion of government-funded health care has proved a tough sell to Democratic voters in swing districts that will determine control of the House.

Many Democratic candidates who made that a centerpiece of their campaigns in key districts this year lost their primaries, in some cases getting clobbered by rivals who offered vaguer health care plans or backed a more incremental approach. Democratic primary voters in battleground districts in Iowa, Texas, Kansas and New York passed over candidates who emphatically supported single payer.

Read the full article here: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/21/universal-medicare-democratic-primaries-745296