Why did David Jolly win that election?

Plouffe said the results have more to do with an enthusiasm deficit among Democrats than opposition to PPACA.

The results suggest that Democrats could face the same kind of election problems they faced during the mid-term elections in 2010, Plouffe said.

Sink lost mainly because turnout was higher for Republican voters than for Democratic voters, Plouffe said.

With 36 U.S. Senate seats up for election in November, Democrats face an electoral map in which the party will be "playing a lot of away games" in Republican-leaning states, Plouffe said.

Still, he said, some Republican-leaning states such as Louisiana and Arkansas, both represented by incumbent Democratic senators seeking re-election, have a "significant minority population" traditionally allied with Democrats.

Advances in campaigning with social media and analyzing voter data made by the Obama campaigns won't be enough by themselves to generate high enough turnout for Democrats, Plouffe said.

"It's not just about data and technology," said Plouffe, author of the book "The Audacity to Win" following Obama's first election as president. "The candidates themselves are going to have to do a good job inspiring [voters]."

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