WASHINGTON — Allies of President Donald Trump this week are targeting Congressman Scott Tipton of Colorado with a new TV ad that uses an unusual tactic — reverse psychology — to get him to support a second effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
The 30-second spot, paid for by the Trump-aligned group America First Policies, urges viewers to call Tipton and thank him for “his courage and for standing with President Trump to repeal Obamacare now.”
The oddity comes from the fact that Tipton, R-Cortez, was the only House Republican from Colorado to publicly declare that he would have voted against the GOP health-care plan that collapsed last month — telling The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction afterward that he was opposed to the legislation. Before the vote, Tipton had been noncommittal.
The White House wants to try again, however, and America First Policies is spending $3 million to encourage a dozen House Republicans to get on board.
The list includes a mix of opinions, from lawmakers such as Tipton who were against the last bill to supporters that include David Schweikert of Arizona who went to bat for the failed legislation.
Missing are Colorado Republicans Mike Coffman and Ken Buck, who both said they backed the GOP health-care proposal. The state’s fourth and final House Republican, Doug Lamborn, was “undecided but leaning no,” according to an aide.
Tyler Sandberg, a political consultant who served as Coffman’s 2014 campaign manager, said the Tipton ad may represent an effort by the Trump team to show the congressman the political benefits of aligning with the White House on another health-care push.
“It seems like they’re trying to demonstrate to Rep. Tipton what kind of support he would have should he vote for a repeal,” Sandberg said.
Officials with America First Policies could not be reached for comment.
Through a spokeswoman, Tipton declined an interview request, although she said Tipton had no knowledge of the ad before it ran.
“I have no update for you on health care at this point,” Liz Payne, a Tipton spokeswoman, wrote in a statement. “As I’m sure you know, there is no coordination between congressional offices and PAC efforts. We learned of the ad buy the same way you did.”
A social media campaign tied to the 30-second ad also noted that Tipton is a member of the Repeal Obamacare Caucus. No such group exists, according to U.S. House records, although Payne noted that Tipton is “part of the group of members who wants to repeal and replace the law.”
Colorado, as a state, fully embraced the 2010 health-care law after its passage — notably by expanding its Medicaid rolls to provide an additional 407,000 residents with coverage. Between 2011 and 2015, the number of Coloradans without health insurance fell from 15.8 percent to 6.7 percent, according to the Colorado Health Institute.
Support for the Affordable Care Act remains strong in the state. A March poll of Colorado voters found that 54 percent of them preferred to save or fix the healthcare program. A smaller share of voters, about 41 percent, said they wanted to see it eliminated or replaced.
That’s not a complete surprise given that Colorado went for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and then for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Tipton’s district, however, gave Trump a big win. The Republican candidate carried Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District by 12 percentage points.
