Fate of health law tied to GOP White House, Senate wins

Politico reports that Republicans may not get another chance to repeal "Obamacare" if they're unsuccessful at wresting control of the Senate and the executive branch this year. Other news outlets report on specific House and Senate races.

Politico: 'Obamacare' Foes Fear GOP Losses
If Mitt Romney doesn't win the White House in November, and the Republicans don't win the Senate, the GOP might not get another chance to repeal "Obamacare." That's the reality of the 2012 election, and even the staunchest opponents of the Democrats' health care reform law acknowledge it. By the time the 2014 election comes up, all of the law's major changes will be in place. So if the Republicans don't win control of the White House and Congress to repeal it before then, the goal of wiping away the law will probably be out of their reach (Haberkorn, 9/22).

Los Angeles Times: Congressional Race Is A Test For Longtime Member Of The House
In Congress, where he is the senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Waxman has shepherded landmark legislation, often enlisting Republican help, on clean air, tobacco regulation and generic drugs. He secured money to fight AIDS and battled government fraud. He was a key player in the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, derided by Republicans as "Obamacare" (Merl, 9/23).

USA Today: Akin Still Confident He Can Win Missouri Senate Seat
In an interview with USA TODAY, the Republican lawmaker -- abandoned by his party and GOP outside groups when he made controversial comments last month about the abortion rights of raped women -- is unbowed and confident that he is on track to defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. Republican Party leaders had hoped Akin would exit the race by a Tuesday deadline to get his name off the ballot in order to nominate another Republican, but the six-term House member has never entertained the notion and has lashed out at "party bosses" who tried to influence the race (Page, 9/23).

National Journal: McCaskill, Akin Face Off In First Debate
The candidates sparred over Obama's health care law: Akin said McCaskill wanted to take $700 billion out of Medicare, which McCaskill called "the biggest whopper of this campaign season." She retorted that the law "does not cut one dime in Medicare benefits," and that Akin had voted to cut that money repeatedly, when he voted for Paul Ryan's budget (Sobel, 9/21).