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Amid key role on Obamacare repeal, South Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur announces town hall

WASHINGTON - Tom MacArthur says he isn't hiding.

The South Jersey congressman who has thrust himself into the center of the charged national debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act will hold a town hall meeting May 10 in largely Democratic Willingboro, he announced Thursday morning.

"Throughout my time in Congress, being accessible to my constituents has always been a top priority," MacArthur said in a statement. "This is the second open public forum I've held in the past year in Willingboro, where I barely got 10 percent of the vote. I am looking forward to visiting Willingboro again to discuss the issues of critical importance to the community."

MacArthur, a second-term Republican, became a top target for Democrats and liberal critics after he supported the GOP's plan to repeal and replace Obamacare last month.

But now, he has a national spotlight on him. This week he secured a deal with House conservatives that revived the chamber's flagging effort to roll back the health law. While conservatives see the law as a vast federal overreach that has driven up costs, it is increasingly popular for its consumer protections, and has expanded access to health insurance in New Jersey and across the country.

MacArthur is on the front lines politically. He represents a swing district that supported Barack Obama twice, but tilted to President Trump last year. Democrats have put him on their list of top targets in elections next year.

In Willingboro, he'll be visiting a Burlington County town where 62 percent of the voters are registered Democrats and only 19 percent are Republicans, according to his office.

Some Republicans, including several in the Philadelphia area, have avoided town hall meetings as voters and protesters on the left have used them to vent their anger at the Trump administration. This will be MacArthur's second town hall, after one in March.

You can follow Tamari on Twitter or email him at jtamari@phillynews.com.