Kennedy maintains a loyal following that Republicans hope to bring out to the polls this fall as they defend their shaky control of Congress. As a rival-turned-ally, Kennedy was influential to President Donald Trump’s winning coalition in 2024, and Republicans are attempting to replicate that success by deploying him as a surrogate through his “Take Back Your Health Tour.” 

This past week, Kennedy appeared with Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) to launch a school nutrition program in Florida and has spent the year hosting events on everything from elder care to dairy farming.

Many of his stops have been in the districts of endangered House Republicans, including Reps. Tom Barrett in Michigan, Gabe Evans in Colorado, and Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin — each of whom appeared with Kennedy.

“The MAHA movement is one of the most important forces in American politics right now,” said Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee. “RFK Jr. has been a powerful force on the campaign trail as he helps our Republican candidates get their message across to voters who prioritize making America healthy again.”

The events underscore the niche role Kennedy is playing despite his low overall approval ratings. A spring survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found his popularity at 39%, but 68% among self-identified MAHA supporters.

The Trump administration has upset some within the MAHA movement over its stance on pesticides and the impression that Kennedy has, to some extent, been hamstrung as a Cabinet secretary, but the White House has also courted health-conscious voters with steps like its crackdown on processed foods.

White House spokesman Kush Desai called the emphasis a “whole-of-government effort” to follow through on his campaign promises.

“Secretary Kennedy is rightfully going to tout these victories for the American people and keep delivering more of them in the coming weeks and months,” Desai said.

The more controversial of those policy changes, including Kennedy’s push to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children, have led Democrats to accuse the administration of pursuing an agenda based on conspiracy theories rather than science.

In fact, Kennedy has been one of the more commonly featured Cabinet secretaries in Democrats’ campaign advertising.

Earlier this year, an outside group linked to House Democratic leadership ran ads blaming vulnerable Republicans for the job cuts Kennedy oversaw at the Food and Drug Administration. He’s also been a foil for Democratic nominees with medical backgrounds. 

Dr. Richard Pan, who is running for a Sacramento-area House district in California, introduced himself to primary voters as someone who “took on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” as a state legislator.

Annie Andrews, a pediatrician challenging Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) in South Carolina, has called Kennedy her “professional nemesis” and believes he should be impeached.

The focus on Kennedy is just one small piece of an electoral argument Democrats are staking on healthcare and larger concerns over affordability.

Viet Shelton, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, criticized the Medicaid and food stamp reforms congressional Republicans passed last year when asked about Kennedy as a GOP surrogate.

“Voters can see through Republicans’ lip service on healthy foods for what it is — a hypocritical political ploy,” Shelton said. “Republicans have literally taken food away from hungry children and families to pay for tax breaks for billionaires.” 

“When Democrats win in November, it’ll be because voters trust us to actually deliver healthier, affordable foods for everyday folks, not just talk about all the food no one can afford,” he added.

The sniping comes as Republicans attempt to buck the political headwinds that typically face the party in power. The GOP stands a reasonable chance of keeping the Senate in November, but is widely projected to lose its narrow control of the House.

The MAHA movement has not materialized as the midterm juggernaut that allies had initially hoped. The political action group MAHA PAC has fallen woefully short of the $100 million it initially pledged it would raise for Kennedy allies.

But the issues that made Kennedy an insurgent candidate for president continue to make waves for certain candidates, including businessman Zach Lahn, who ran a similarly insurgent primary campaign and defeated a Trump-backed pick for Iowa governor.

In June, he defeated Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) for the Republican nomination by waging a campaign against “big agriculture” and the pesticides he blames for the state’s unusually high cancer rates.

Kennedy, for his part, largely steers clear of the more divisive parts of his agenda at events, choosing instead to emphasize physical fitness for children or the money being directed to treat substance abuse.

His involvement in the midterm elections has not been without controversy, however. He fanned a feud with Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) last week when he questioned Pennsylvania’s reporting of two measles-associated deaths and continues to face questions about his stance on vaccines.

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Democrats accused him of violating election law following reports that he urged two Libertarian candidates to drop their House bids in Iowa.

Kennedy joins other Cabinet secretaries in criss-crossing the country on behalf of congressional Republicans over the August recess, including War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.