FACT BRIEF

Did support for 'Medicare for All' cost any House members their seats in the 2020 election?

Saturday, November 14, 2020

By Austin Tannenbaum

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

No incumbent House Democrats who supported a 2019 "Medicare for All" bill have yet lost their 2020 reelection campaign. Freshman California congressman and Medicare for All supporter T.J. Cox is trailing in a race that's still too close to call.

The eight House Democrats who lost their seats did not support the health care proposal. Additionally, in each of the three Democratic primaries in which a challenger defeated an incumbent, the challenger supported Medicare for All. Seven Democrats in battleground races who did not support Medicare for All did win reelection.

The goal of extending health care insurance to all Americans has gained popularity steadily in recent years. An October poll by KFF found 53% of respondents support the House proposal to create a national system.

Sources

Ballotpedia: US House battlegrounds, 2020

Google Drive: Reviewer research—House Medicare for All support and 2020 battleground results

KFF: Public opinion on the idea of a national health plan

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

The Gigafact Project launched in May 2020 as an in-house team at Repustar to explore new ways to support more useful and productive conversations across social and digital media. Gigafact’s editorial team continues to collaborate with Repustar developers and researchers, working to improve formats, presentation standards and engagement strategies.

FACT BRIEF BY

About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.