Health premium news gives attacks to GOP Senate candidates

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Senate candidates are jumping on news of sharply rising premiums under President Barack Obama's health care law as they seek advantage in the closing days of the election.

The unpopular law was already an issue in some key Senate races, a recurring attack line for GOP candidates and in some cases another way to tie Democrats to Hillary Clinton.

The latest rate hike news is "an exclamation point on the argument we've been making," said Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, a group backed by the conservative billionaire Koch Brothers which has been working on Senate races around the country.

For Republicans, it's a rare piece of good news as they try to hang onto a slim 54-46 Senate majority in an unfavorable environment, sharing a ticket with an erratic presidential nominee, Donald Trump, who's been sliding in the polls.

[...] Democrats argued that voters already know that Republicans oppose the health care law and Democrats support it, and contend that opinions are too established for another round of negative headlines to make much difference.

According to a Kantar Media analysis for The Associated Press, Arizona and Missouri had the highest concentration of Obamacare-themed Senate ads, about 36 percent and 27 percent, respectively.