MAHA movement and Trump's base weigh a split after Democratic midterm sweep

Left · 2Following Democrats' sweep in Tuesday's midterm elections, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, centred on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is questioning its alliance with President Donald Trump's coalition. 1 2 Left · 1Politico's Playbook, as relayed by Raw Story, said the two movements joined forces in 2024 for practical reasons: Trump wanted to win, and Kennedy wanted a platform to overhaul the food supply, farming practices and vaccine policies. Politico said that bargain 'looks far less appealing' now that Democrats will control Congress. 1 Left · 1Ars Technica reported that more than half of the 24 MAHA-endorsed candidates lost, including Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race and Zach Lahn, who ran for Iowa governor and lost to Democrat Rob Sand by 11 points, days after Kennedy headlined a rally for him. 2

Left · 1Ars Technica also said MAHA lost allies such as Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who founded a Senate MAHA caucus, and Rep. Zach Nunn, while critics of Kennedy won, including Richard Pan, Annie Andrews and Abdul El-Sayed. 2 Left · 1Some MAHA loyalists blame Trump for the GOP's losses, pointing to his support for glyphosate, a weedkiller many in the movement say causes cancer, and to the lack of far-reaching action on vaccines. 1 Left · 1Ars Technica said discontent predated the vote: in February Kennedy backed Trump's decision to increase domestic production of glyphosate, in September he appeared at a MAHA-branded summit with large corporate sponsors, and in October influencer Tiffany Cianci published a scorecard listing 42 promises, of which she counts 37 broken, five partially fulfilled and none kept. Kennedy ally Calley Means also resigned in October, reportedly disillusioned. 2

Left · 1Cianci told Politico that politicians 'didn't buy these voters, they rented them,' adding that the voters 'haven't necessarily moved to the Democrats' and that Democrats 'are going to have to earn it.' 1 Left · 1Tony Lyons, president of MAHA's network of nonprofits and PACs, had pledged in March to raise $100 million for MAHA-aligned Republicans, but federal filings show his MAHA PAC spent just over $1 million on federal races, about $209,000 of it in competitive contests. On Wednesday he told supporters MAHA would work with Democrats who embrace its agenda, while doubting their sincerity and challenging them to work with Kennedy rather than grill or try to impeach him. 1 Left · 2Moms Across America, founded by Zen Honeycutt, endorsed Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Cory Booker last month, alongside a slate of Republicans. Mary Talley Bowden, a MAHA activist, ran a social media poll on whether to start a third party, join the Democrats or overthrow the GOP; joining Democrats had 3 percent and a third party led with 49 percent at publication. 1 2

Left · 1Many congressional Democrats want to hold Kennedy to account. Andrews said in August that Kennedy should be impeached and removed, El-Sayed said he looks forward to holding him accountable, and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks wrote Wednesday that Kennedy 'must resign or be fired.' 2 Left · 1Ars Technica said it is an open question whether MAHA fades, fractures, is reborn as a new group or is absorbed into a Democratic platform; it suggested Kennedy's removal might let the movement drop his more fringe views and focus on food quality, environmental contaminants and industry influence, but noted that some vocal figures remain loyal to him. 2