The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative is emerging as an unexpected factor in the lead-up to this year’s midterm elections. This movement, drawing interest from President Trump and sectors of the Republican Party, seeks to bolster GOP chances by aligning with the well-known Make America Great Again (MAGA) platform. A key figure in this alignment is Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been instrumental in merging these efforts.

Kennedy, who was a steadfast Democrat before his endorsement of Trump and subsequent role in the administration, has provided the Republicans with a fresh pool of voters. This new alliance might be crucial in revamping the party’s standing as Trump faces significant challenges, with approval ratings slipping perilously low.

Currently, President Trump’s approval rating hovers at a mere 39 percent, as reported by a CNN poll dated January 16. While support from the Republican base remains strong, he struggles to resonate with a broader audience, capturing the approval of just 29 percent of Independents.

Jeff Hutt, spokesperson for the Make America Healthy Again political action committee, notes the popularity of certain Republican policies since the 2024 elections. These include reforms in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and school lunch programs, initiatives largely propelled by the MAHA movement and championed by Kennedy. “If you look across the United States, some of the most popular Republican policies have emerged from this MAHA movement,” Hutt explained, highlighting the influence Kennedy has wielded in shaping this agenda.

“If you look across the United States, some of the most popular Republican policies that have come out since the ‘24 elections have been things like SNAP reform, have been things like school lunch reform… things that have come out of this MAHA movement” and championed by Kennedy, said Jeff Hutt, a spokesperson for the Make America Healthy Again political action committee. 

MAHA voters are not necessarily strong Republican primary midterm voters, Hutt said, and don’t necessarily support Trump at all costs. For instance, the MAHA PAC endorsed Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who’s facing a Trump-backed primary challenger in 2026. 

“The Republican Party is going to have to really give those people, or express a reason to those people, why they should come out and vote, and I think that’s going to be their big challenge,” Hutt said. 

But Republicans trying to appeal to MAHA voters will need to walk a tightrope between the agricultural and food wing of the movement as well as the anti-vaccine wing, as Democrats try to exploit that as a weakness. 

Kennedy “has the support of the loudest voices in MAHA across the country, and they probably agree with his position on vaccines,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who launched the Senate MAHA Caucus in 2024 shortly after Trump tapped Kennedy to lead HHS. 

“But vaccines [are] such a small part of the big picture here, and I’m sure hoping we can move on from vaccines and talk about these other things” like healthier food and soil and curbing chronic disease, Marshall said. 

The Trump administration showed it recognized the importance of appealing to MAHA voters during a glitzy, invite-only “MAHA Summit” held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in November.  

During the event, MAHA VIPs mingled with top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance. 

Kennedy even moderated a fireside chat with Vance, where the vice president adopted the health secretary’s skepticism of public health and establishment medicine. 

“I don’t like taking medications,” Vance said. “I don’t like taking anything unless I absolutely have to. And I think that is another MAHA-style attitude. It’s not anti-medication, it’s anti-useless-medication… we should only be giving our kids stuff if it’s actually necessary, safe and effective.” 

Support for the MAHA movement is polarized, polls have shown, with Republicans more likely than Democrats and independents to say they identify as supporters.  

But many of MAHA’s ideas are broadly popular, even if the label is partisan.  

A KFF/Washington Post poll of 2,700 parents released in October found about four in 10 identified as supporters of the MAHA movement. That included one in six Democratic parents and one-third of independent parents. 

At least eight in ten parents said they “strongly” or “somewhat” supported increasing government regulations on dyes and chemical additives in food, highly processed food, and added sugars in food. That included more than 80 percent of Republican parents. 

David Murphy, a former finance director for Kennedy’s presidential campaign, noted that food safety and environmental safety and health are issues that Democrats usually lead on. 

But Kennedy joining the Trump administration has shifted that dynamic and made life more uncomfortable for Republicans who have traditionally supported the food and pesticide industries. 

“I think the food and ag stuff does have bipartisan appeal,” Murphy said. 

The MAHA agenda can give GOP candidates a set of popular health issues to talk about, especially if they focus on ultra-processed foods, artificial sweeteners, and obesity.  

A lawmaker’s embrace of some of the less popular issues—like changes to pediatric vaccines— will likely depend on their district. 

Kennedy has unilaterally upended federal vaccine policy by slashing the number of recommended vaccines for children, moves that left public health experts aghast and fearful of a resurgence in dangerous, preventable illnesses. He has also signaled that more changes are coming. 

If Democrats can make Kennedy’s vaccine changes the centerpiece of their attacks, he could be a liability for GOP candidates. 

According to the KFF poll, parents who support MAHA were more likely to express vaccine-skeptical attitudes and were much less likely to think it’s important for children in their communities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or the flu. 

However, both MAHA parents and non-MAHA parents overwhelmingly valued long-standing childhood vaccines. Almost 8 in 10 MAHA parents were confident in the safety of the polio and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shots. 

“I think probably for [candidates] who have to do a lot of appealing to suburban parents, I think [vaccine changes are] a hindrance,” said GOP strategist Liz Mair.  

Suburban women who voted for Trump and Republicans because of inflation concerns “are not naturally going to gravitate towards the party that puts an anti-vax guy who has a bunch of crazy theories about Tylenol,” Mair said.