Meet The MAHA Candidates Heading Into The Midterms

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The Make America Healthy Again movement is wading into the 2026 midterms.

Political organization MAHA Action has backed several candidates in this year’s elections, including GOP Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett, Michael Alfonso, Republican Louisiana Rep. Julia Letlow, Brandon Herrera and Zach Lahn. MAHA Action asserted in a statement that these candidates “advance the Make America Healthy Again Movement and keep ending the chronic disease epidemic at the forefront of today’s politics.” (RELATED: Surging Healthcare Costs Will Have ‘Major Impact’ On MAHA Voters’ Decisions In Midterms, Poll Shows)

“We believe health is the most sacred right and we must vote to keep it,” according to MAHA Action.

MAHA Action did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

Farmer and former conservative political director Lahn defeated President Donald Trump-backed Rep. Randy Feenstra in Iowa’s GOP gubernatorial primary on June 3 with 38% of the vote, according to multiple reports. He also notched an endorsement from Turning Point Action in the state’s gubernatorial race.

(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 22: A woman holds a sign that says “MAHA Moms” as she sits on stage before Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary arrive for a news conference at the Health and Human Services Department on April 22, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

U.S. Army veteran Barrett has previously promoted several healthcare-related priorities such as safeguarding Veterans’ access to medical care. MAHA Action referred to Barrett as “a leading MAHA voice in Congress and a staunch defender of parental rights in decisions affecting their children” in a May 6 Instagram post.

We think there’s real opportunities there to engage with these younger female voters on these [MAHA] issues. And we’re going to make it a priority going in to November,” Jason Cabel Roe, a political strategist working for Barrett’s campaign, told the DCNF on Tuesday.

“I definitely think there’s kind of a revolution in healthy living, unlike anything you’ve seen before, and I think Republicans are very well positioned to take advantage of this opportunity,” he added.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s son-in-law Alfonso is running to represent Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district. He is a “strong defender of Medical Freedom, Nutritional Reform, Food Freedom, and Parental Rights, believing families—not bureaucrats—should guide their own health decisions,” according to MAHA Action.

“Making America Healthy Again is a core pillar of my campaign,” Alfonso said in an April 15 X post. “Make no mistake, the explosion of obesity, chronic disease, and metabolic illness is a national security threat.”

Alfonso’s campaign did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Herrera is “an entrepreneur, Second Amendment activist, and social media personality” running to represent Texas’ 23rd congressional district, according to a bio on his campaign website. He is also “vocal about the urgent need to fix our food supply and restore transparency to American science,” according to MAHA Action. (RELATED: MAHA Secures Med School Support For Curriculum Overhaul)

Herrera’s campaign did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

(Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

(Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Jumping into Louisiana’s 2026 Senate race this January, Letlow has “been one of the strongest voices in Congress for protecting children, strengthening families, and fighting back against the chronic disease crisis,” according to MAHA Action’s endorsement.

Letlow has previously touted “embracing” the MAHA movement. She also asserted in an April 2 op-ed published in The Hill that “MAHA is not just a slogan.”

“It is a long-overdue shift in how we think about public health, nutrition, and the responsibility of leaders to support better outcomes for American families,” she wrote in the op-ed. “Instead of protecting the same failed system, the Trump administration is finally bringing attention to the root causes of poor health, especially the food and lifestyle choices that are driving chronic disease across this country.”

“Congresswoman Letlow is honored to be the only MAHA-endorsed candidate in this race,” a campaign spokesperson told the DCNF on Thursday. “Their support reflects her commitment to improving Americans’ health, increasing transparency, and putting children and families first. Her commanding victory in the primary underscores the growing importance of those issues to voters across Louisiana. We are grateful for MAHA’s partnership and continued support throughout this race.”

There have been several reports of MAHA supporters becoming dissatisfied with recent Trump administration actions, including President Donald Trump’s February executive order that expanded domestic glyphosate production. Glyphosate is a commonly used herbicide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“We thought we were getting a different administration that wanted to stand up to special interests, stand up to the pharmaceutical industry, stand up to the food companies, stand up to Big Ag, Big Chem. And that is not what we got,” Vani Hari, a MAHA movement leader also known as Food Babe, told Politico on June 7. “What we have right now is business as usual.”

MAHA Action and MAHA Institute have mostly remained on the sidelines in key races that could help shape the makeup of Congress, Politico reported on June 6. Several analysts previously told the DCNF that MAHA priorities may be losing relevance ahead of November’s midterms as voters focus on other political issues, including the economy and war with Iran.

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