Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Obamacare premium hikes could aid Donald Trump, Republicans in swing states
Republicans who rode anti-Obamacare sentiment to majorities in Congress are relying on voters like Florida trucker Edwardo Arenas to help them win back the White House and undo President Obama's legacy item once he's gone. Published November 6, 2016
Democrats poised for Senate takeover as unforced errors imperil Republican incumbents
The battle for control of the Senate remains a jump ball just days before elections, with Democrats leading or within striking distances in seven races -- more than enough to take the chamber from Republicans. Published November 3, 2016
Donald Trump leads Catholic vote, but Hispanics favor Hillary Clinton
Catholic voters are proving to be the wild card of this year's presidential race, as Hispanic adherents of the faith back Democrat Hillary Clinton in large numbers and their white peers — though divided — warm to Republican rival Donald Trump, potentially tilting the balance in some of the election's key battleground states. Published November 2, 2016
Scott Garrett’s gay rights stance tightens New Jersey House race
Rep. E. Scott Garrett easily won re-election in campaign after campaign, but the New Jersey Republican is now in one of the toughest House races of his career after he drew the ire of the gay rights movement, which has spent heavily to oust him. Published November 1, 2016
Obamacare premium costs skyrocket, but plan still has backing of president
Obamacare's biggest test is looming Tuesday when the fourth year of open enrollment begins amid skyrocketing premiums and ever fewer options, and as President Obama tries to solidify the law's wobbly finances before he leaves office. Published October 31, 2016
Nancy Pelosi, Democrats back Obama against GOP lawsuit over health law
Nearly a dozen House Democratic leaders who fought to pass President Obama's health care law in 2010 asked an appeals court Monday to toss a GOP lawsuit that accuses the administration of unlawfully reimbursing insurers under the program. Published October 31, 2016
Republicans hope Obamacare complications will flip key states
Republicans are weaponizing Obamacare's latest struggles in the final days of the 2016 campaign, hoping outsize rate hikes and dwindling choices will tilt the balance in key states even if only a small percentage of voters actually use the program. Published October 30, 2016
Obama to allies: Cut through ‘political noise’ around health law
President Obama urged thousands of allies Thursday to cut through the "political noise" around his signature health care law and drive people into its web-based exchanges starting Nov. 1, betting consumers will be impressed with their options if they actually log on. Published October 27, 2016
Opioid epidemic demands greater access to key medications: Govt. report
Access to medications that help opioid addicts kick the habit isn't keeping pace with the raging prescription painkiller and heroin epidemic that's battering every corner of the U.S., government investigators said Thursday. Published October 27, 2016
Americans divided over future of Obamacare once namesake is gone: Poll
American voters are split over the future of Obamacare, according to a poll Thursday that finds roughly equal shares of support for repealing the law versus expanding what it does. Published October 27, 2016
Pat Toomey, Joe Heck, Marco Rubio back away from Donald Trump
Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican locked in a tense re-election battle in Pennsylvania, is now running ads spotlighting disagreements with his party's presidential nominee Donald Trump and personal praise from the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Published October 26, 2016
Hillary Clinton ignores Obamacare’s bad news, says repealing law would be counterproductive
Hillary Clinton is trying to ignore the latest bad Obamacare news, hoping to survive through the November election before confronting the first major challenge for the next president: how to save President Obama's health law. Published October 25, 2016
Obamacare premiums to rise sharply as choices dwindle, administration confirms
Obamacare premiums will soar in 2017, the administration acknowledged Monday, with the price of the most popular benchmark plans jumping an average of 22 percent as the law continues to rely on older, sicker customers than its backers had envisioned. Published October 24, 2016
Donald Trump’s voter fraud concerns overblown, election officials say
Voter fraud has occurred in recent presidential elections, officials in key swing states say, yet its magnitude falls short of the type of systematic cheating that Donald Trump is prophesying. Published October 23, 2016
House GOP eyes contempt proceedings over Clinton emails
A Republican House chairman on Thursday said he will move to hold in contempt the Colorado-based firm that Hillary Clinton hired to help run the private email server she used as secretary of state during President Obama's first term. Published October 20, 2016
Obama says Obamacare is working, yet needs fixes
President Obama fiercely defended his signature health care law Thursday, saying it has slashed the uninsured rate to historic lows, though he implored his successor and Congress to cure the "growing pains" that have battered the program politically and left millions of uninsured on the sidelines. Published October 20, 2016
Nancy Pelosi: Claims of a rigged election ‘beyond the pale’
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday said Donald Trump is "not going to the president of the United States" and that claims of a rigged election are highly irresponsible. Published October 19, 2016
HHS expects 13.8M signups under Obamacare, amid challenges
Obamacare's exchanges will attract roughly 1 million more customers than they did last year, administration officials predicted Wednesday, saying they're confident the program will grow in 2017 despite widespread concerns about rising premiums and dwindling consumer choice. Published October 19, 2016
Donald Trump, Richard Burr, Pat McCrory in peril as Republicans fight to keep North Carolina
Spread out like a Burma-Shave ad, the message on a trio of roadside signs was jarring but familiar: Lock. Her. Up. Published October 17, 2016
Donald Trump gets assist from conservative women as groping accusations threaten campaign
As the presidential race sank into R-rated territory, the wives of three sitting congressmen urged a dozen women sipping iced tea at Darryl's Wood-Fired Grill last week to rise above the fray and get out the vote -- for Donald Trump. Published October 16, 2016
