GOP maverick embraces Medicaid expansion

The Washington Post examines the efforts by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, to redefine the GOP. While touting party orthodoxy on economic matters, he has embraced his own version of compassionate conservatism, among other things, implementing the health law's Medicaid expansion. And he is sailing to re-election in a key battleground state.

The Washington Post: Ohio's John Kasich Wants To Redefine The Republican Party
If Kasich were to run in 2016, he would probably face some serious obstacles, in part because he has not spent the past year getting ready to run. GOP strategists suggest he would enter as a candidate at the top of the field's second tier, as neither a purely establishment nor purely tea party candidate. He would carry baggage among conservatives for having expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act but could point to success in Ohio as a sign of how he might do in general-election battlegrounds (Balz, 10/14).

Meanwhile, the health law continues to be a hot topic in the Arkansas Senate race -

The Associated Press: Cotton, Pryor Tangle Over Health Law's Impact
Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor accused Republican Rep. Tom Cotton of having "no answer" for Arkansans receiving coverage under the federal health overhaul, a law that Cotton called a disaster that must be repealed as the two squared off in their second televised debate Tuesday. The two candidates in the hotly contested Arkansas Senate race faced off in their only head-to-head matchup, with less than a week to go before the first votes are cast for the November election. Early voting begins Oct. 20. Pryor accused Cotton of having no solution for the nearly 200,000 Arkansans receiving coverage through the state's "private option" compromise Medicaid expansion if the federal health law is repealed. Cotton criticized Pryor for his vote for the overhaul, and said repealing it would allow for reforming the health care system and giving states control over programs such as Medicaid. "I think we have to start over on health care reform because Obamacare is a disaster," Cotton said (DeMillo, 10/14).