Michigan Republican John James’ senate campaign exposed falsehoods, related to health care, being pushed by incumbent Sen. Gary Peters (D). The freshman senator has spent much of the race attacking James on health care, claiming that he would take coverage away from Michiganders.
The campaign points out that Sen. Peters enjoys an “exclusive, gold-plated, taxpayer funded health care plan,” that is available only to a handful of Michigan residents, while putting James on blast for opposing Obamacare. Indeed, Sen. Peters once claimed to be enrolled in the Obamacare exchange, which is patently untrue. Sen. Peters advocated for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and campaigns on keeping the law intact, but did not utilize the exchange himself.
“Gary Peters doesn’t want voters to know that he is on an exclusive gold-plated, taxpayer-funded health care plan which less than 300 people in Michigan qualify for,” said James' communications director, Abby Walls. “Like a typical career politician, Gary Peters made laws about health care that raise everyone else’s rates and restrict everyone else’s choice of health care options, but Peters’ plan does not have the same restrictions. It’s more do as I say, not as I do conduct from 30-year career politician Gary Peters.”
Sen. Peters was also caught lying in recent ad buys, in which he claims that James would deny coverage to those with preexisting conditions and deny “millions” of people healthcare coverage. James supports the repeal of the ACA, as most GOP senators do, but Sen. Peters’ claim that his opponent will ignore pre existing conditions is untrue, as Bridge Michigan noted:
“The ad uses real data showing what’s at stake for Michiganders and Americans if the ACA were repealed but reaches a false conclusion about James’ stance on health care,” the site's fact check reads. "The proposal that the ad calls “James’ plan” died before he was even a political candidate...he has always been consistent that a replacement should include protections for pre-existing conditions.”
Sen. Peters continues to ramp up attacks on James, a charismatic rising star in the GOP, as the battleground senate race tightens. Sen. Peters’ once-wide lead over James is virtually nonexistent as Democrats hope to defend the seat.