Updated Nov. 6, 2013 7:58 p.m. ET
Democratic senators took their complaints about the troubled launch of the federal health law directly to the White House Wednesday, as the surprisingly close governor's race in Virginia prompted some in the party to warn that they would face voter backlash next year if the problems weren't fixed.
Republicans and a number of Democratic officials say distaste for the health law aided Ken Cuccinelli, the losing GOP candidate in Virginia, who focused heavily on the health law in the campaign's final weeks. Polls for weeks had longtime Democratic fundraiser Terry McAuliffe breezing to an easy victory, but he won Tuesday by less than three percentage points.
Among the more than a dozen Democratic senators who pressed President Barack Obama to fix problems with the law's implementation that have frustrated many Americans were several senators who face particularly tough races next November, including Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mark Begich of Alaska.
At a Senate hearing Wednesday, meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers warned Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that she must fix the troubled health insurance website by the end of November. "There is no room for error. You must meet—and I prefer you beat—that deadline," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) told her.
The Virginia results also fueled a debate among Republicans about strategy for the next election. Some pointed to GOP Gov. Chris Christie's easy re-election in New Jersey to argue that his inclusive tone offered a winning model. But conservatives said the apparent potency of the health-law issue argued for the party to sharpen its ideological edges.
Worries run deep in Democratic circles that persistent problems with the health-law rollout could give a boost to Republican candidates, especially if the problems drag into next year. As evidence, both sides point to Virginia, where the merits and flaws of the law played a central role in the governor's race.
Mr. Cuccinelli had gained prominence as the first state attorney general to file suit to overturn the 2010 health law. In his concession speech Tuesday night, he said that unease over the law had made the race close, even as he faced a huge funding gap in the final weeks.
"Despite being outspent by an unprecedented $15 million, this race came down to the wire because of Obamacare," he said.
Cuccinelli aides say the campaign was knocked off track by the 16-day government shutdown, which depressed fundraising and gave Mr. McAuliffe a bump in the polls just when the Cuccinelli camp had planned to pivot entirely to hammering on the health-care law. Only in the final two weeks did the campaign, by then nearly broke, find its footing with its attacks on the law, they said.
"We had the best wave in the world. We just didn't have the surfboard to ride it," said top Cuccinelli campaign strategist Chris LaCivita, who believes the issue "will only get worse" for Democrats.
Virginia exit polls found that a majority of Virginia voters opposed the health-care law, and that Mr. Cuccinelli performed strongly among those voters.
The same dynamic played out in New Jersey, where half of voters opposed the law, and 85% of those voters sided with Mr. Christie in his lopsided victory.
Virginia Democrats largely accept that the law aided Mr. Cuccinelli down the stretch, but they contend it also motivated voters on their side.
Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democratic former governor of Virginia, said concerns over the law made the margin in the election "narrower than it might have been." He said it was clear the law faced an array of complicated challenges that need to be fixed.
Casting a spotlight on the law "certainly helped Cuccinelli narrow the margin in the last two weeks. That's undeniable," said Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, who represents a district in the suburban north, bordering Washington. "But it also helped our base."
A White House official said Mr. Obama invited the senators to the White House Wednesday because he wanted their input. The president also talked about "ongoing efforts" to fix the HealthCare.gov website and promised to "ramp up communication and education outreach" to consumers who are being told their existing insurance policies are being canceled, the official said.
Mr. Begich said that he told Mr. Obama during the two-hour meeting that his constituents were increasingly frustrated with "an unworkable website, technical glitches and inaccurate information about people's individual situations." Sen. Mark Udall (D., Colo.) said in a tweet that he pressed Mr. Obama to extend the enrollment period and ensure the security of consumer information.
Responding to voter concerns, a number of Senate Democrats have called on the White House to extend the deadline by which people must obtain health coverage to avoid a tax penalty. Others are pushing for legislation aimed at allowing people to keep insurance plans that are slated to be canceled next year.
Some Democrats insist it is far too early to predict political perils stemming from the law's rollout, and that Republicans would be foolish to count on that for victories in 2014.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) said unhappiness with the law "had some effect on the election.'' He predicted that problems with the law would be fixed, and that it would have a "minimal effect'' next November.
"The notion that Obamacare is a silver bullet is not borne out" for Republicans by the results in Virginia, said David Axelrod, a top Obama campaign adviser last year. "I also don't think the circumstances are likely to be the same a year from now as they are today."
Republican operatives see it otherwise. "The Virginia race is a very bad omen for Democrats in 2014," said Brian Baker, president of Ending Spending, a super PAC that sunk about $500,000 into the Cuccinelli election effort, largely by hitting Mr. McAuliffe on the health care law. "My view is that Obamacare is toxic," he said.
The election of Mr. McAuliffe increases the chances that Virginia would grow its Medicaid program to include more than 300,000 low-income residents. Mr. McAuliffe had pledged as part of his campaign to opt into the expansion, in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last summer that effectively gave states a choice over whether to participate. Under current GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell, the state was poised to sit out the expansion, along with as many as 23 other states, most of which are Republican-led.
Phil Cox, a longtime Virginia GOP political operative who now runs the Republican Governors Association, said he sees political advantage in the health-care issue as his group prepares to defend 20 incumbent Republican governors in the 36 gubernatorial races next year. A number of those incumbents, including Ohio's John Kasich and Michigan's Rick Snyder, have backed expanding Medicaid in their states despite their overall opposition to Affordable Care Act.
"The way I see it, the political environment will only continue to improve for Republicans because of Obamacare," he said. "The more voters learn about it, the less they like it."
Write to Neil King Jr. at neil.king@wsj.com and Siobhan Hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
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