(DCNF)—The Make America Healthy Again movement may be losing significant steam ahead of the November midterm elections as many Americans have grown increasingly concerned about other political issues.
The MAHA movement is becoming gradually more fractured, according to a spate of recent reports. Multiple analysts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that MAHA-related issues will take a backseat in the midterms especially compared to concerns regarding U.S.’ ongoing affordability crisis and the Iran war.
The MAHA movement is “the mouse that roared,” according to Steve Milloy, executive director of the Free Enterprise Project and founder of JunkScience.com.
“[Other] midterm voter concerns – like affordability, the Iran war, immigration and President [Donald] Trump, dwarf MAHA issues,” Milloy told the DCNF. “Plus, the midterms are about people voting for their representatives in Congress, not [Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.].”
Milloy, a biostatistician and lawyer, also asserted that the Trump administration should “quietly walk away from MAHA” and instead prioritize other issues.
“MAHA is a dangerous movement,” he said. “Its junk science-based views on food additives, chemicals, microplastics, autism and more threaten our food supply and modern society, generally. I fought these people for 30 years when they were on the left where they belong. President Trump would do well just to stick to basic conservative principles, including good science.”
Affordability is currently a top concern for Americans ahead of November’s elections. As of March, 32% of Americans said the economy was the nation’s most important problem, according to Gallup data. A recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS Trump’s approval rating for his handling of economic issues had dropped to a new career low of just 31%.
Republican strategist Michael McKenna told the DCNF that he thinks the “size and importance” of the MAHA movement has become somewhat “overblown” during Trump’s second term.
“Most of it is the remnant of the anti-COVID vaccine crowd,” McKenna said. “I don’t think we should be in the business of aggrandizing Secretary Kennedy. I don’t think I’m alone in that. I think most Americans look at this crew and think that they’re probably right about eating real food and wrong about vaccines. That’s the frame within which Secretary Kennedy operates.”
Samuel Karnick, a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute, similarly told the DCNF that he is doubtful any potential “divisions” over MAHA priorities will make a big difference in this year’s midterms.
“It seems unlikely that divisions over MAHA will have much impact on the 2026 elections,” Karnick explained. “The big issues are the economy, the lingering effects of inflation, the Iran war, the high cost of health care, and the SAVE Act. Congress has done little, if anything, to implement the MAHA agenda, so there is not much reason for the issue to affect people’s votes at present.”
Karnick also told the DCNF that both Democrats and Republicans “could try to boost their appeal to MAHA voters by taking action on other issues the latter consider important, though few Democrats or left-leaning independents will vote Republican in any case.”
“Republicans could try to appeal to MAHA sentiments by expanding legal access to health savings accounts, providing favorable tax treatment for those who do not have employer health care,” he added. “Allowing much greater use of HSAs in Medicaid, and ultimately for Medicare, would help bring health care prices down, expand access and improve quality.”
A Politico poll released on April 6 found that less than half of supporters of MAHA — 42% — believe vaccines are a key issue for the movement. The survey also showed that only six MAHA principles — focused on food, chemicals, and physical fitness — gained majority support from respondents.
A separate Politico poll released in late March shows that many voters — including backers of the MAHA movement — are split over whether the Trump administration made enough progress in improving Americans’ overall health.
Though, some proponents still believe MAHA could have a major political impact in this year’s midterms.
The movement is poised to be “politically transformative,” according to Steve Cortes, founder and president of League of American Workers.
“The MAHA movement is politically transformative and the widest, clearest path to growing the coalition for patriotic populism,” Cortes told the DCNF. “MAHA brings a lot of supporters who would not consider themselves MAGA, or even political at all. But they want to be healthier and they know that our food and healthcare are making us sicker.”
“They want healthier children, and this movement speaks to them viscerally,” he continued.
“MAHA is an integral part of President Trump’s MAGA Agenda, and Secretary Kennedy is an integral member of President Trump’s Administration,” White House Spokesman Kush Desai told the DCNF in a statement on Thursday. “From cracking down on artificial dyes to overhauling America’s Dietary Guidelines, the Trump administration has delivered one MAHA win after another, and the White House continues to work hand in glove with Secretary Kennedy and the entire HHS team to keep more MAHA wins coming for the American people.”
In February, Trump issued an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to ramp up the production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides in the U.S., sparking major backlash among MAHA advocates.
The White House hosted a roundtable meeting with several MAHA supporters on April 9, PoliticoPro reported. Some of the health advocates saw the meeting as an attempt to mend divisions following several recent decisions from the Trump administration that favored the pesticide industry, the outlet reported.
Trump announced Thursday he is tapping former Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz to serve as the next Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director. The move has drawn criticism from some MAHA advocates who do not see Schwartz as being aligned with the movement due to her actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Politico reported on Friday.
Toby Rogers, a fellow at the MAHA-aligned Brownstone Institute, wrote in a Wednesday X post that “Dr. Joseph Ladapo (@FLSurgeonGen) earned the right to be CDC Director with his courage and visionary leadership during Covid,” adding “instead the White House is leaning toward Erica Schwartz who ordered the fraudulent PCR tests that were part of the Covid psyop.”
Still, Vice President JD Vance referred to MAHA as “a critical part of our success in Washington” in November 2025, KFF Health News reported.
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