'You can't eat if you're dead': Dems eye RFK Jr. as their 2026 boogeyman

Source: Politico

11/15/2025 12:00 PM EST


Republicans see Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as an asset for the midterms. Democrats are trying to make him a liability. Top aides of President Donald Trump believe the firebrand health secretary has a unique ability to galvanize anti-establishment energy on the left and the right, and argue Republicans’ fate in 2026 hinges on keeping his Make America Healthy Again movement happy.

But several Democratic candidates and organizations told POLITICO they’re betting on Kennedy dragging down the GOP, pointing to polling showing his long-held anti-vaccine views are turning the public off.

They’re banking on voters associating Kennedy with disease outbreaks and rising insurance costs rather than his more popular criticisms of pharmaceutical companies and focus on nutrition and wellness. As both parties seek to build coalitions ahead of the midterms, public views of Kennedy — and how candidates position themselves in opposition to him — could make a difference in key races that will decide control of Congress.

“With RFK Jr. in office, we’ve had, in Minnesota this year, over 20 cases of measles, a disease that should have been eradicated a generation ago, and we see misinformation about our health at every level, including on Tylenol and pregnancy,” said Matt Klein, an internal medicine doctor running as a Democrat for Minnesota’s only open — and most competitive — House seat. “So I’ve been vocal about that. I think I’m called to be vocal about it.” Recent polling suggests Americans are primed to agree with these attacks.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/15/democrats-kennedy-maha-message-00647045