Election 2014: Is Obamacare helping or hurting?

The Labor Department on Friday revised upward July and August employment numbers and reported the economy added 248,000 jobs in September. That’s good news for the economy, but it didn’t cause a major stir on the campaign trail. Why?

“A jobs report may not translate to people’s feelings about the economy,” said Kyle Kondik with the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “There is deep pessimism that doesn’t just go away with a good jobs report or GDP revision.”

The 2014 midterm elections are only four weeks away, and the economy continues to play a major role in races around the country. With President Barack Obama’s approval ratings in the tank and 65 percent of likely voters saying the country is on the wrong track, Republicans are trying to turn the election into a referendum on the president and his policies.

Surprisingly, Obama agrees with them. Last week, while making his case for the economic recovery, Obama said, “Make no mistake: these policies are on the ballot—every single one of them.”

The Affordable Care Act ranks at the top of Obama’s economic policies. Bad Obamacare news continues to trickle out and a majority of Americans still oppose it, but the law isn’t dominating the headlines like it was a year ago. Many Democrats have claimed the law’s decreased emphasis is a sign it’s working—and thus a victory for their campaigns. But Kondik said the damage is likely already done: “Just because it’s not in the news right now doesn’t mean it’s not baked into the cake.”

Here is our weekly roundup of campaign news:

Colorado

Last night, Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Udall went all-in with the Affordable Care Act, saying he would support the 2010 law again, during his second debate with Republican Rep. Cory Gardner. Udall touted the law’s benefits and said the number of Coloradans without health insurance has dropped by 6 percent.

Gardner, banking on Obamacare’s unpopularity, detailed the negative consequences, such as lost insurance coverage and jobs. “The president just said it: His policies are on the ballot, and Mark Udall has voted with him 99 percent of the time,” Gardner said.

The two candidates will meet for two more debates this week, including Tuesday night. Polls show the race is a dead heat.

Kansas

Polls continue to show long-time Republican Sen. Pat Roberts is in serious trouble. Although challenger Greg Orman, a Democrat-turned-independent, is facing accusations about his true positions and political allegiances, a new NBC poll shows him up by 10 percent.

Roberts best chance at salvaging the race my lie with the 10-15 percent who have yet to make up their minds. But with Orman’s support hovering in the mid to upper 40s, Roberts would have to win an overwhelming majority of undecided voters, if the election were held today.

Kentucky

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell already seems to be in a strong position to win re-election against Democrat challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes, but he got an assist on Monday. After Grimes promised to fight for Kentucky’s struggling coal industry, Project Veritas Action released undercover video showing Grimes campaign workers all believe she’s simply doing whatever it takes to win.

“She’s saying something positive about coal because she wants to get elected,” said one operative. “It’s a lying game,” said another. Worst of all, a major donor said, “She’s going to [expletive deleted] ’em as soon as she gets elected.”

Grimes has run a strong campaign, but given the coal industry’s importance in the state, the new revelation could end up sealing her fate.

California

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, heads to California this week to stump for Republican candidate Carl DeMaio, who hopes to represent the San Diego area in Congress. Boehner has been criss-crossing the country to help many GOP candidates, so the trip wouldn’t be notable if not for one fact: DeMaio is openly gay.

DeMaio is poised to become the first openly gay Republican in Congress, and Richard Tisei of Massachusetts may make it two. Last week the Family Research Council, the National Organization for Marriage, and Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink sent a joint letter to the GOP’s congressional leaders—and distributed it to every Republican in Congress—urging them not to support DeMaio, Tisei, or Monica Wehby, who is running for U.S. Senate in Oregon and has endorsed gay marriage.

“While we acknowledge that a national party must accommodate varying points of view on matters of prudence, we also believe a party must stand for certain core principles that it expects its candidates to defend,” the groups wrote. “Carl DeMaio, Richard Tisei, and Monica Wehby are antithetical to the Republican platform.”

Wisconsin

Domestic violence has popped up as an issue in some races, and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is one of the candidates trying to seize it. Walker is running a new ad featuring a woman who briefly tells her story and touts the governor’s accomplishments on the issue.

Walker, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, is locked in a tough re-election battle with Democrat Mary Burke, a 55-year-old businesswoman whose only political experience is running for school board. The latest polls show Walker with a nominal lead, but the race remains very tight.

Television ads

Democrats have dominated Republicans in digital content during the last three election cycles, but that seems to have changed in 2014. A POLITICO analysis found 16 of the 20 most-viewed online campaign ads were created by or for GOP candidates.

One of the most talked-about ads of the year is this one from Joni Ernst, Iowa’s Republican U.S. Senate candidate: