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Article snippet: Democratic candidates for governor in red and purple states are going on the offensive on Medicaid expansion, betting the ObamaCare issue will resonate with voters. In ads and speeches in states including Wisconsin, Georgia and Florida, Democrats are seizing on the popularity of Medicaid, making it a central part of their campaigns and using it to attack their GOP opponents. “This is the first time that Democrats have really pushed that issue and have gotten somewhat more defensive responses from Republicans,” said Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll. In Georgia, Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams said expanding Medicaid will be her “day one” priority if elected. “Every year Georgia doesn’t expand Medicaid, we lose $3 billion meant to pay for Georgia’s health-care coverage,” Abrams said in a recent campaign video. “What we can’t afford to do is leave behind Medicaid expansion.” In Wisconsin, Democrat Scott Walker of playing politics during his 2016 presidential run by refusing to accept federal money to expand Medicaid and lower the cost of care for families across the state. “The Walker vulnerability is the amount of federal money left on the table by not taking the expansion. Not taking that money means the state has picked up a big part of the health-care tab it did not need to pick up,” Franklin said. With the failure of congressional Republicans to repeal ObamaCare last year, advocates see momentum on Medicaid in state capitals. They ... Link to the full article to read more