Republican Sen. Dean Heller raised numerous objections to his party’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare in a closed meeting with constituents over the weekend, Politico reported on Sunday.
This adds to the more than half-dozen GOP senators who have criticized the bill, which will need the support of all but two Republicans in the upper chamber to pass if the Democrats all vote against it.
According to audio of the meeting obtained by Politico, Heller distanced himself from the more conservative faction in his party, saying that "Not everything in the Affordable Care Act [Obamacare] is bad… I think we ought to embrace what's good in the Affordable Care Act."
Heller is in a precarious position as he is the only GOP senator who needs to run for re-election next year from a state which Hillary Clinton won.
The Las Vegas Sun emphasized the precariousness of Heller's situation, saying polls in Nevada show that as many as 90 percent of the state's residents do not want any replacement for Obamacare to turn back the clock on coverage and put insurance companies in charge again.
Surveys in the state indicate that how Heller votes on the GOP health plan could be crucial to his re-election chances, which at this point are not looking particularly good.
One poll shows that Heller, who was critical of Donald Trump during the election campaign, will need all the help he can get to have any chance of returning to the Senate after next year’s election.
His approval rating among Nevadans is currently just 33 percent, compared to an unfavorable rating of 53 percent.
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