Liberal groups launch campaigns to boost turnout based on Obamacare support

SEIU Healthcare executive vice president Kirk Adams, whose division has more than 1.2 million members, said the Medicaid expansion issue resonates with many voters who often sit out non-presidential election years. Polls show majorities of voters support enlarging the program with the help of federal funds, even in some deep-red states.

“We have an issue we think can motivate folks, and we feel like we have a pretty clear defining line between Candidate X and Candidate Y,” Adams said.

But they face stiff odds, in part because Democratic turnout tends to drop off significantly during midterms. And among the general electorate, GOP voters who oppose the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, are the most fired up.

A recent national Quinnipiac poll found that half of Democrats said they were more likely to vote for a candidate who supported the law, while eight in 10 GOP voters were less likely to vote for such a candidate.

“A turnout message that half of your base doesn’t care about is not very compelling,” Brad Dayspring, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, wrote in an e-mail. “That is a 26-point intensity gap between the parties.”