{"id":20746,"date":"2026-03-30T09:01:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T09:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/poll-maha-wants-more-they-may-turn-to-democrats-to-get-it\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T09:01:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T09:01:38","slug":"poll-maha-wants-more-they-may-turn-to-democrats-to-get-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/poll-maha-wants-more-they-may-turn-to-democrats-to-get-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Poll: MAHA wants more. They may turn to Democrats to get it."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Republicans hope the Make America Healthy Again movement becomes a permanent fixture of a big GOP tent. But the party can\u2019t count on its support heading into midterm elections this November.<\/p>\n

New results from The POLITICO Poll<\/a> show both broad frustration and dissatisfaction with the Trump administration on health priorities and opportunities for Democrats to make inroads with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s MAHA supporters.<\/p>\n

A majority of Americans associate MAHA with the Republican Party, but not overwhelmingly, and most believe the Trump administration has not done enough to \u201cMake America Healthy Again\u201d \u2014 including a 41 percent plurality of Trump\u2019s own 2024 voters.<\/p>\n

The burgeoning political movement that officials in both parties credit with helping President Donald Trump win in 2024 has already begun to reshape how the GOP approaches health policy \u2014 driving everything from a redesign of the food pyramid<\/a> to a rollback in vaccine recommendations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the same time, however, many poll respondents view Democrats as better positioned on the movement\u2019s key health priorities. They were more likely, for example, to say the Democratic Party can be trusted to make the country healthier and are more eager to improve health in America, while fewer said the same of Republicans. The GOP, on the other hand, is seen as more likely to be influenced than Democrats by lobbyists for the food and pesticide industries, who rank among the MAHA movement\u2019s top enemies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These views could have real consequences in a midterm election year when razor-thin differences in turnout could determine control of Congress. And Democrats are bullish<\/a> about channeling voters\u2019 frustration with the Trump administration\u2019s policies into a blue wave this cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe MAHA movement in the [2024] campaign cycle started with a lot of energy, and did create more energy for these types of issues that previously wouldn\u2019t have been associated with the GOP,\u201d said Abby McCloskey, a GOP policy adviser who has warned<\/a> that Republicans are \u201csquandering their MAHA moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, I think the energy has trickled off from the perspective of, what is the federal government going to do about this?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Overall, 47 percent of poll respondents say they support the MAHA movement, including roughly a third of voters who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 and about a third of Americans who plan to vote for Democrats this November. By comparison, 70 percent of Trump 2024 voters say they support the MAHA movement.<\/p>\n

However, Americans don\u2019t consider the nation\u2019s health a top issue; It saw the same level of prioritization as \u201cwokeism\u201d and opioid abuse. When asked to choose between priorities for the U.S. government, a majority placed improving Americans\u2019 health above stopping illegal immigration or cutting down on crime \u2014 but below affordability and concerns with cost of living.<\/p>\n

And there are still widespread misconceptions about what MAHA is and what it does \u2014 even among people who self-identify with the movement. Just a third of Americans say they have heard of the MAHA movement and could<\/i> explain what it is. Another third say they have heard of MAHA but could not<\/i> explain it, including 31 percent of people who identify as part of the movement. One in four Americans had not heard of the movement at all.<\/p>\n

The poll points to an opening for Democrats if they can effectively speak to the movement\u2019s most popular issues and highlights that Republicans\u2019 advantage with MAHA is far from guaranteed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople that we would call a \u2018MAHA\u2019 voter, they’re not partisans. They really are up for grabs,\u201d Rep. Lauren Underwood<\/a> (D-Ill.) told reporters on a recent call organized by the progressive advocacy group 314 Action, which is working to elect people with a health and science background to public office. \u201c[Republicans] have really taken actions to alienate those folks, to break the promises that they made. They are no longer focusing on the core tenets of that Make America Healthy Again platform in order to continue to please Donald Trump, and also to advance their policy agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has largely pushed a deregulatory agenda, despite pressure from its MAHA supporters to crack down on pesticide companies, food manufacturers and drugmakers. Its recent choice to make it easier for Bayer to increase production<\/a> of its weed killer Roundup has especially enraged MAHA supporters<\/a>, who have said the move made it harder for them to continue supporting GOP candidates in the November midterms.<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s own allies have warned Republicans that they cannot take MAHA voters for granted heading into November. Tony Lyons, the president of the MAHA Action, a political advocacy group that supports Kennedy\u2019s agenda, said last month in a memo obtained by POLITICO<\/a> that the GOP is merely \u201crenting MAHA voters\u201d but hasn\u2019t been able to \u201cpurchase\u201d them.<\/p>\n

The Blue Light News Poll also finds that the issues self-identified MAHA supporters rank as most important are ones Democrats have championed more often than Republicans, such as halting the spread of infectious diseases, stricter regulation of \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d and expanding access to reproductive health care.<\/p>\n

This is not necessarily surprising, since many voters who support MAHA\u2019s goals have typically been Democrats, said Rodney Whitlock, a longtime GOP congressional aide turned health care strategist.<\/p>\n

Some of the policies less popular among MAHA respondents, meanwhile, are ones the GOP has embraced: restricting abortion access and reducing the number of vaccines Americans receive.<\/p>\n

Yet the movement still lines up with, and supports, some Republican food policies and initiatives. For example, 80 percent of MAHA respondents support removing artificial dyes from food and 72 percent support restricting junk food purchases in federal nutrition programs, both priorities the Trump administration has tackled.<\/p>\n

Lyons has urged Republicans to talk more about Kennedy\u2019s policy goals, including discouraging Americans from eating ultraprocessed food, on the campaign trail. If they fail to do so and disgruntled MAHA voters peel off or stay home in November, he has warned, Democrats could take control of Congress, subject Kennedy to oversight hearings, and block his policy and regulatory efforts from going forward.<\/p>\n

Lyons did not respond to a request for comment for this story.<\/p>\n

The Blue Light News Poll results \u2014 along with other recent polling<\/a> showing declining trust<\/a> in the Trump administration\u2019s health recommendations \u2014 reveal a potential vulnerability for Republicans.<\/p>\n

House Majority Forward, a nonprofit allied with House Democratic leadership, surveyed voters in February and March across several battleground districts the party is hoping to flip this fall. The group\u2019s polls, shared first with POLITICO<\/a>, found that more voters in Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey and Pennsylvania disapprove of Kennedy and his performance as health secretary than view him favorably.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this opportunity for Democrats to just start talking about making foods healthier and reducing the chemicals in the food that we’re giving them, \u2026 you know, limiting pesticide use, getting physical activity, removing artificial dyes,\u201d said Carly Cooperman, a Democratic pollster and CEO of Schoen Cooperman Research.<\/p>\n

A growing number of House and Senate Democrats \u2014 challengers and incumbents \u2014 are taking this advice to heart.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re beginning by focusing on pesticide use, which has become a political tension point for Trump\u2019s GOP coalition, pitting the MAHA movement against powerful farm industry interests that have long been loyal to Republicans and hold significant sway<\/a> with the administration.<\/p>\n

Democratic lawmakers have railed against the Trump administration in social media posts, floor speeches and hearings for signing an executive order boosting domestic production of the pesticide glyphosate<\/a> and siding with Bayer in a case pending before the Supreme Court that could shield the company from liability for the health impacts of its products. Democratic lawmakers, joined by a handful of Republicans, are also introducing bills and amendments that would undo or overturn these actions.<\/p>\n

The Blue Light News Poll found that limiting pesticide use is broadly popular, with more than two-thirds of respondents in support of doing so. And MAHA\u2019s dissatisfaction with the Trump administration\u2019s stance has led to some leaders within the movement threatening to primary farm-state Republicans as early as August of last year<\/a> \u2014 yet another opportunity Democrats can exploit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re not even sure that we even have a path forward in this administration when it comes to pesticides, because it’s very clear that they are entirely owned by Bayer and the chemical companies,\u201d said Kelly Ryerson, a MAHA influencer who goes by the moniker Glyphosate Girl online and has publicly backed Kennedy.<\/p>\n

Progressive advocates also say Democrats would be wise to seize on MAHA voters\u2019 simmering frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a genuine concern that there is unhealthy food in our food supply, and this administration is making it worse,\u201d said 314 Action President Shaughnessy Naughton, whose group is backing Democratic challengers around the country.<\/p>\n

Yet even as a segment of MAHA appears to sour on the GOP \u2014 and Kennedy \u2014 some of his agenda garnered widespread support among poll respondents, from removing artificial food dyes to offering whole milk in schools. Though MAHA respondents didn\u2019t rank Kennedy\u2019s stances on vaccines high on their list of importance, a notable chunk of Americans are <\/i>highly skeptical of existing requirements.<\/p>\n

The Blue Light News Poll found that 41 percent of respondents across party lines support reducing how many vaccines Americans receive, with Republicans significantly more likely to hold that view. Fifty-eight percent of Trump 2024 voters support reducing how many vaccines Americans receive, compared to 29 percent of Harris 2024 voters.<\/p>\n

Broad support for some of the key positions of MAHA \u2014 especially among Trump 2024 voters \u2014 and approval of some of the administration\u2019s actions on health, suggest that Republicans may still be able to leverage the popular elements of the platform to win over voters in November.<\/p>\n

Because health ranks so far down the list of Americans\u2019 concerns, it\u2019s unlikely to be a decisive factor in how they vote this midterm. Still, that doesn\u2019t mean Republicans should be complacent and assume MAHA priorities won\u2019t matter at all, Republican strategist Whitlock warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans have to be working from the perspective of \u2018everything matters,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cTo do differently is political suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republicans hope the Make America Healthy Again movement becomes a permanent fixture of a big GOP tent. But the party can\u2019t count on its support heading into midterm elections this November. New results from The Blue Light News Poll show both broad frustration and dissatisfaction with the Trump administration on health priorities and opportunities for Democrats to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}