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Tuesday’s battering of Republicans in races across the U.S. also dealt a few blows to the health freedom and “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movements championed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Trump administration.
Although some candidates endorsed by MAHA Action and Stand for Health Freedom won their races, many more did not. Meanwhile, several candidates known for their pro-vaccine views and opposition to Kennedy scored electoral wins.
Michael Kane, director of advocacy for Children’s Health Defense, said Tuesday’s results “had nothing to do with opposition to medical freedom issues.” Instead, many voters focused on the Iran war, the economy and the cost of living.
In one sign of bipartisan agreement, voters approved the vast majority of ballot measures restricting artificial intelligence (AI) data center operations and development.
Τony Lyons, president of MAHA Action and president of Skyhorse Publishing, said exit polls showed that 30% of voters nationally identified as MAHA supporters. Lyons said voters “rejected some messengers,” but “did not reject the message.”
Preelection surveys showed stronger support for MAHA than for the Trump administration overall, but voters overwhelmingly favored Democrats on healthcare.
Public health figures celebrated Tuesday’s outcome, framing the Democrats’ win as a means of restoring “trust and confidence in public health.” Bloomberg cited the millions of dollars Democrat lobbying groups spent to boost “scientific candidates.”
But John Gilmore, executive director of the Autism Action Network, said the results may lead to a contentious next two years, including a likely impasse between Congress and the Trump administration that may obstruct the MAHA agenda.
“Anthony Fauci is probably still celebrating the outcome of this election,” Gilmore said.
‘Ending the chronic disease epidemic was never a partisan project’
STAT reported post-election that MAHA is at a crossroads — it can become “bluer and broader” by embracing healthcare costs and chronic disease, remain aligned with Kennedy’s vaccine policies, or splinter into grassroots movements.
Gilmore said the Democrats’ victory likely spells the end of congressional investigations into the origins of COVID-19, vaccine-related injuries and COVID-19 hospital protocols.
But other health freedom advocates and policy experts told The Defender that despite Tuesday’s results, the MAHA movement will continue — and could be reenergized by collaborating with a Democrat-led Congress.
Lyons said reports of MAHA’s demise “are greatly exaggerated,” saying it is “wishful thinking by everyone who profits from keeping Americans sick.” He said the movement has “real wins to build on,” including those of the “MAHA-backed candidates who won more than two dozen state legislative races.”
Jeffrey Tucker, president and founder of the Brownstone Institute, said: “Freedom advocates were only reluctant partners with Trump — but now, the movement is in a position to grow and thrive without him.” Tucker called this “a welcome change.”
“Medical freedom must mean the same thing whether a Republican or Democrat occupies the White House,” said Daniel O’Connor, founder and president of TrialSite News. “Otherwise, we risk trading a lasting public-health reform movement for a temporary political moment. The real test begins now.”
TrialSite News reported that a MAHA coalition with Democrats may have “limits,” including on contentious topics like vaccines and informed consent. But for Dr. Monique Yohanan, director of the Center for Better Health at Independent Women, “MAHA grew out of something much deeper than partisan politics.”
“It reflects the experience of Americans, particularly parents, who felt dismissed by institutions that were supposed to serve them,” she said. “Those concerns aren’t tied to any one political party or any particular election result.”
“The path changes but the goal doesn’t,” Lyons said. “Ending the chronic disease epidemic was never a partisan project. Getting toxic additives out of school lunches, getting heavy metals out of baby formula and making regulators independent of the industries they oversee — those ideas have supporters in both parties, and we’re going to find every one of them.”
“We changed the conversation. Now we have the opportunity to change the country.”
MAHA-endorsed candidates see mixed electoral success
Of the 24 candidates endorsed by MAHA Action — three for the U.S. Senate, 18 for the U.S. House of Representatives and three for governor — eight won their races.
In Louisiana, Republican Julia Letlow won her Senate race against Democrat Jamie Davis. Letlow enjoyed significant MAHA support dating back to the primaries, where she defeated incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), one of Kennedy’s foremost critics.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who co-authored an amendment to a House bill preserving states’ authority over pesticide labeling, was reelected in Florida.
In Iowa, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand defeated Zach Lahn, flipping the seat for the first time in 20 years. MAHA Action had thrown its weight behind Lahn, including an Oct. 28 rally with Kennedy. Lahn previously called for a ban on mRNA vaccines.
In Arizona’s gubernatorial race, Republican Andy Biggs lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs. As a member of the House, Biggs co-sponsored a bill to make COVID-19 vaccine makers liable for injuries and deaths, and introduced a bill to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization.
Candidates endorsed by Stand for Medical Freedom (SFMF) saw similarly mixed results. Among 23 endorsed candidates running for Congress or governor, eight notched victories. SFMF-supported Republican Mark Lamb (Arizona) was leading his race at press time.
Winners included Republicans Tommy Tuberville and Alan Wilson in the Alabama and South Carolina gubernatorial races, respectively; Barry Moore in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race; and Georgia U.S. House candidate Rich McCormick.
RFK Jr. critics win key governor races — but Florida elects health freedom supporter
In addition to Arizona and Iowa, where MAHA-supported candidates are projected to lose their gubernatorial races, several incumbent governors who played a key role in COVID-19 pandemic measures or who oppose Kennedy’s policies held onto their seats.
In California, Democrat Xavier Becerra defeated Republican Steve Hilton. Becerra was health secretary under the Biden administration, authoring and extending the COVID-19 public health emergency that granted liability protection to vaccine makers.
Key critics of Kennedy’s vaccine policies — Josh Green in Hawaii and Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania — won their respective races. Shapiro and 15 state attorneys general sued Kennedy over his vaccine policies. Amid a measles outbreak in his state, Shapiro accused Kennedy of spreading vaccine “misinformation.”
In Ohio, pediatrician Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, becoming the state’s first Democrat governor in 20 years. Acton was Ohio’s health director during the COVID-19 pandemic, resigning in June 2020 amid a backlash against the state’s lockdown policies. She has called Kennedy her “professional archnemesis.”
In Michigan, MAHA Action-endorsed Republican John James lost to Democrat Jocelyn Benson, while in Texas, incumbent Republican Greg Abbott, a key MAHA ally, lost to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.
However, in a win for health freedom, Florida elected Byron Donalds as its next governor. Donalds will be responsible for appointing Florida’s surgeon general, a position now held by Dr. Joseph Ladapo, a strong proponent of health freedom.
Like Ladapo, Donalds has long opposed vaccine mandates and says that he did not personally receive a COVID-19 vaccine. He supports Ladapo’s proposed rule change to reduce school vaccination mandates and said during his campaign that he is open to reappointing Ladapo as surgeon general, according to The Conversation.
Democrat winner of Michigan Senate seat sought to woo MAHA voters
MAHA Action scored a key Senate win in Florida, where Republican Ashley Moody, who appeared with Kennedy in August, defeated Democrat Angie Nixon.
In Texas, MAHA Action-supported Republican Ken Paxton lost to Democrat James Talarico. It was the first time a Democrat from Texas won a Senate seat since 1988.
As attorney general, Paxton took on grocery stores for spraying pesticides on organic foods, launched a broad investigation into glyphosate residues in foods, sued Pfizer for misleading claims about its COVID-19 vaccine and investigated pediatricians for pushing parents to vaccinate kids in order to boost profits.
In Kansas, Republican Roger Marshall, who founded and chaired the Senate MAHA Caucus, lost to Democrat Adam Hamilton. In New Hampshire, MAHA Action-supported Republican John Sununu lost to Democrat Chris Pappas.
Michigan Democrat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a physician and epidemiologist, defeated Republican Mike Rogers. In September, El-Sayed unveiled his “Building a Healthier America” plan and later, in an apparent bid to attract MAHA voters, declared, “We need to own this lane.”
Two Democrats who staunchly support vaccination were elected, including Sherrod Brown in Ohio, who strongly supported COVID-19 vaccination and testing the unvaccinated during the pandemic, and Annie Andrews in South Carolina. Andrews, a pediatrician, said she would seek Kennedy’s impeachment if elected.
The co-sponsors of a 2025 Senate resolution calling for Kennedy’s ouster were also reelected — Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
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Advocate of ‘strictest vaccination laws’ wins House seat
Results were also mixed for MAHA-supported candidates vying for House seats. Aside from Luna’s reelection in Florida, a notable outcome was Democrat Richard Pan’s win over MAHA-endorsed independent candidate Kevin Kiley in California.
Pan is an outspoken Kennedy critic and advocate for the “strictest vaccination laws” in the U.S., including restricting vaccine exemptions.
Three Republicans that MAHA Action supported in Florida won their races. In Texas, two MAHA Action-endorsed Republicans, Brandon Gill and Jace Yarbrough, won their races, while Brandon Herrera lost his.
In Wisconsin, Republican and MAHA ally Michael Alfonso was elected. Alfonso has pledged to fight artificial food dyes.
Several other MAHA Action-endorsed candidates lost, including incumbents Tom Barrett in Michigan, Addison McDowell in North Carolina, Scott Perry in Pennsylvania and Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin.
Endorsed candidates also lost in Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, while in South Carolina, Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt is trailing, in a race that was not called by press time.
Related articles in The Defender
- Pharma Spent Record $456.9 Million Last Year on Lobbying — With No Signs of Slowing Down
- Policy Shift or Strategic Omission? Trump Radio Silent on MAHA in State of the Union Address
- Impeach RFK Jr.? Critics Pan Congresswoman’s Plan to Launch Impeachment Bid
- MAHA Commission Outlines Sweeping Agenda to Target Chronic Disease
- Vaccine Lobbyists Deny Calling RFK Jr. ‘Direct Threat to Public Health,’ Declare Support for MAHA
- Is Upcoming Senate Hearing a Ploy by Pharma, Big Media to Get RFK Jr. Fired?
