Key Quote: “Rep. Barbara Comstock dodged constituents, declined town halls and avoided taking a public stance on the Republican Party’s increasingly unpopular health care bill in the months leading up to its collapse."

Politico: Democrats eye Comstock's swing seat after Obamacare repeal failure

“Rep. Barbara Comstock dodged constituents, declined town halls and avoided taking a public stance on the Republican Party’s increasingly unpopular health care bill in the months leading up to its collapse.

Her last-minute decision to oppose it — after other GOP moderates had spoken out and sealed the bill’s doom — is unlikely to protect her in 2018.
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Comstock, a second-term moderate Republican, came out against her party’s Obamacare repeal bill just several hours before her ally, House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled it from the floor to forestall an even more humiliating defeat.
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But Comstock’s reluctance to speak out earlier against the bill like fellow Virginia moderate Republican Rob Whitman, who opposed the bill in mid-March saying he feared his constituents would lose coverage, caught the attention of district Democrats.
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An ill-timed ad campaign sponsored by the American Action Network, which aired during the NCAA Basketball tournament the day after the bill collapsed, caused further embarrassment. It thanked Republican lawmakers who supported the repeal efforts, including Comstock in the list. A spokesperson for the American Action Network said the ads had been airing for the last two weeks, adding that they would end this week.
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Most Republicans acknowledge the defeat of the Obamacare repeal bill is a loss for the GOP that could hurt the party's slate in next year's elections.

‘Midterms are all about who shows up and we know the Democrats will. You can see the anger. They’re ready to go.’”

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