With the 2014 midterm election now behind us, the politicians and pundits have been offering their opinions as to what the results really meant.  One such politician was Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who was very clear with his opinions on the matter.  During a nationally televised interview, Cruz said the following about the midterm election results:

"You know, in elections that he liked, the president was fond of saying elections have consequences. Well, this last election there was no ambiguity. There were two issues that dominated this last election. Number one, Obamacare. And number two, amnesty. This was a referendum on amnesty. And the American people overwhelmingly said we don't want Obamacare. It's a disaster. It's hurting the American people. And we don't want amnesty. And I'm sorry to say the president is behaving in an unprecedented way. There is not in recent times any parallel for a president repudiated by the voters standing up and essentially telling the voters go jump in a lake, he's going to force his powers."

Our partners at PolitiFact saw the Cruz interview and decided to investigate his claim that the election was a referendum on Obamacare and amnesty.  PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin says that Cruz's claim rates FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.  Gillin says that exit polling told a different story.

"We took a look at the national exit polling data to see what the temperature was of voters on several issues," said Gillin.  "The number one issue according to forty-five percent of the respondents is the economy.  Health care came in at twenty-five percent, and immigration was cited by fourteen percent of respondents as the top issue."

Gillin also points out that any list of top issues doesn't necessarily reflect how the voter will vote in the voting booth.  "Let's say that you say that health care is the most important issue to you when you cast your vote," said Gillin.  "Does that mean you will automatically vote against Democrats?  Perhaps, if you are a Republican, but what if you are a Democrat?  That difference between the viewpoints automatically reduces that supposed pro- or anti- number, so if health care was the most mportant issue to twenty-five percent of the voters, then maybe only fifteen percent were voting against current policies and policymakers."

Because of that uncertainty with the numbers and the exit polling that showed the economy was the most important issue on people's minds as they left the voting booth, PolitiFact rates Sen. Ted Cruz's claim FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.

 

SOURCES:  ELECTIONS AN OBAMACARE REFERENDUM?