2026-10-31T16:00:15.155Z
距离罗伯特·F·肯尼迪（小罗伯特·肯尼迪）及其“让美国再次健康”（MAHA）运动助力唐纳德·特朗普总统入主白宫仅两年时间，现任卫生与公众服务部（HHS）部长正凭借一个关键摇摆州凸显共和党在政治上的软肋。
宾夕法尼亚州爆发的麻疹疫情已将公共卫生问题尖锐地暴露出来，成为攻击特朗普政府的靶心。加上生活成本和伊朗战争，这三大议题正成为民主党抓住的选民核心关切点。
全美范围内，包括今年已报告数百例麻疹病例的州在内，民主党候选人正试图将共和党在公共卫生领域日益丧失的信任转化为政治优势。疫情重灾区集中在威斯康星州、犹他州等深度红区，以及南卡罗来纳州——该州或将选出一名民主党参议员，而这位候选人明确表示，参选部分原因是为了抵制小肯尼迪。
有人借此机会强调联邦政府调整疫苗政策引发的混乱，以及民众对这位卫生部长的分歧态度。卫生部长对疫苗安全性持怀疑态度，且否认免疫接种率下降导致感染迅速扩散。
根据凯撒家庭基金会（KFF）5月的民调，登记选民中信任民主党（41%）处理疫苗政策的比例高于共和党（25%）。60%的选民表示不认可小肯尼迪担任HHS部长的表现。
“我们看到，选民对小肯尼迪伪科学的公共卫生手段极为反感，” former宾夕法尼亚州国会民主党候选人、民主党科学背景候选人资助组织314 Action创始人香农·诺顿表示。
314 Action已在宾夕法尼亚州等至少5个州投入六位数资金开展广告宣传，明确将竞争选区的共和党人与小肯尼迪及其不受欢迎的联邦政策挂钩。
这场宣传攻势始于4月，当时宾夕法尼亚州的麻疹疫情开始蔓延。该组织正重点瞄准宾夕法尼亚州第7国会选区，共和党在2024年以微弱优势拿下这个选区。
即便是部分共和党人也将该党因科学相关信任流失视为问题。“竞选紧张态势无疑层出不穷，一旦局势胶着，谁也说不清会有什么因素影响特定选民的选择？”前得克萨斯州共和党国会议员、医生迈克尔·伯吉斯表示，他同时以疫苗信息为例反问：“为什么要冒险疏远潜在支持者？”
路透社/益普索9月开展的一项全国调查，访问了896名登记选民，结果显示62%的人担忧麻疹疫情，55%的人表示不认可特朗普政府处理美国部分地区疫情的方式。
对民主党及其支持者而言，小肯尼迪被视为主要指责对象。
“人们越被提醒小肯尼迪的真实言行，以及共和党未采取任何措施追究其责任，我认为这会引起选民共鸣，”诺顿说。
HHS未回应置评请求。
宾夕法尼亚州今年已报告超过1300例麻疹病例，其中5人死亡，这场持续的健康危机让民主党州长乔什·夏皮罗与特朗普政府的公开交锋，以及他11月谋求连任的竞选紧密交织在一起。
夏皮罗公开与联邦卫生官员发生争执，原因是小肯尼迪今夏做出不寻常举动：质疑是否有人死于麻疹，并声称夏皮罗的团队对疫情严重性“危言耸听”。
这场争端甚至激怒了州内部分小肯尼迪支持者。一名服务于麻疹疫区社区的助产士告诉CNN，小肯尼迪“在否定科学”且“歪曲数据”。
“这些只会造成更多混乱，”这位近几周每天都能见到麻疹病例的助产士说，她因患者隐私问题要求不透露姓名。
这场争论迫使夏皮罗的对手——州财政部长史黛西·加里蒂不得不向选民保证自己支持疫苗，并与小肯尼迪保持距离。本月一场辩论中，主持人就指出她曾在哈里斯堡参加一场由小肯尼迪出席的“让美国再次健康”集会。
那是自麻疹疫情爆发以来，小肯尼迪在宾夕法尼亚州举办的唯一一场MAHA活动。
“那基本上是为了支持我们孩子的健康饮食，”加里蒂说，“但我已完成全程疫苗接种，我相信疫苗。”
在基层选举层面，314 Action的广告聚焦宾夕法尼亚州一个竞争选区，声称该选区现任共和党众议员瑞安·麦肯齐“不敢对抗特朗普和小肯尼迪”。
厨师政治报告（Cook Political Report）目前将该选区评级为“民主党倾向”。
富兰克林与马歇尔学院本月的全州民调显示，70%的选民认为该州应采取更多措施鼓励疫苗接种。民主党选民、多数独立选民，以及近一半（49%）共和党选民都认同这一观点。
“尽管这不是选民权衡高涨生活成本和国外战争的关键议题，但却是共和党候选人必须应对的又一项不受欢迎政策，”主持这项民调的该学院民意研究中心主任伯伍德·约斯特表示。
他说，选民“真正关注的是特朗普和特朗普政府”。“小肯尼迪是其中一部分；他是人们可能评判的那些政策声明的核心人物之一。”
安东尼·科萨格雷洛斯与妻子住在匹兹堡地区，他们的一岁儿子上个月接种了麻疹疫苗。
身为儿科医疗助理的科萨格雷洛斯告诉CNN，自2024年选举和小肯尼迪被任命为HHS部长以来，他亲眼目睹疫苗怀疑论“显著增加”。
“我身边有些从事儿科行业近50年的医生，他们表示现在是疫苗犹豫和错误信息最严重的时期，”他说。
他已写信给小肯尼迪，解释其疫苗言论导致父母“不必要的死亡”和“不必要的压力”。
科萨格雷洛斯表示，这正转化为他周围的政治变化。他工作和社交圈中原本倾向共和党、现在却转而支持左翼的人，理由包括麻疹重现、高油价和经济衰退等。
“他们会说类似‘我现在要投票给能保护我孩子的人’，而人们反对民主党的态度已发生转变，”他说。
疫情与参议院竞选
温思罗普大学公共民意与政策研究中心执行主任斯科特·赫夫蒙表示，去年南卡罗来纳州的麻疹疫情“无疑是安妮·安德鲁斯竞选活动几个核心团体的主要议题之一”。
尽管此后该议题在参议院竞选中已不再位列首位，但民主党提名者、儿科医生安德鲁斯表示，她参选的动机源于小肯尼迪被任命为HHS部长，认为其公开言论和反疫苗主张损害了公众对卫生机构的信任。
上个月在斯帕坦堡县，安德鲁斯呼吁若当选将弹劾小肯尼迪时赢得掌声。自去年10月南卡罗来纳州爆发麻疹疫情以来，小肯尼迪未再到访过该州。
《纽约时报》/辛辛那提大学的民调显示，在可能投票的选民中，安德鲁斯与共和党参议员达琳·格雷厄姆支持率均为48%，这意味着这个深度红州的竞争出人意料地激烈。格雷厄姆近期因兄长林赛·格雷厄姆去世而获任命接替其席位。
斯帕坦堡县民主党主席凯瑟琳·哈维表示，该县是该州麻疹疫情中心，已报告940例病例。虽然该议题仍会出现在安德鲁斯参与的市政厅和专题讨论中，但自4月该县宣布疫情结束后，其他议题已成为选民首要关注。
“我认为对候选人安妮而言，这仍然是头等大事，因为疫情发生在小肯尼迪执掌卫生部门期间，我们正看到这对我们社区造成的影响，同时这也是州议会放宽学校免疫接种法律的结果，”哈维说。“问题在于，这是否能成为全州前三名议题？我认为答案是否定的，因为油价和共和党整体腐败等问题已经占据主导。”
诺顿指出，除安德鲁斯外，今年各级选举中还有前所未有的大量医生和科学家参选。俄亥俄州州长候选人艾米·阿克顿、密歇根州参议院候选人阿卜杜勒·埃勒-赛义德均为医生，他们在攻击政府和共和党公共卫生政策时均提及小肯尼迪。
本月，伯吉斯与另一位前共和党国会议员、印第安纳州医生拉里·布克森在医学新闻网站《Stat News》上警告，“对疫苗保持沉默，对原本会投票给共和党的选民而言，会成为一个无法接受的问题”，且“民主党候选人已迅速将该议题转化为优势”。
然而，小肯尼迪的疫苗怀疑论言论在一些重视医疗自由的保守派社区仍有共鸣，尤其是出于宗教原因的社区。这些是民主党需要谨慎应对的领域。
尽管自2025年6月以来犹他州已报告700多例麻疹病例，但支持医疗自由的倾向让将疫情归咎于MAHA煽动的疫苗怀疑论变得更难。
“该州充斥着这种自主自决的心态，比如‘我自己决定，政府决定不了’，”民主党州参议员、急诊儿科医生、寻求连任的詹·普伦布表示。
“我知道如果我完全向他们说明我为何如此重视疫苗，会疏远这些人，因为我会让他们感觉，无论是否有意，他们似乎不太关心自己的孩子，”她说。“这对孩子没好处，也无助于我帮助他们。”
CNN的奥斯汀·卡尔佩珀和凯特琳·麦考密克对本文亦有贡献。
MAHA helped power Trump’s 2024 victory — but now RFK Jr. is exposing a GOP midterm vulnerability
2026-10-31T16:00:15.155Z
Just two years after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement helped propel President Donald Trump into the White House, the now-Secretary of Health and Human Services is highlighting a political vulnerability in a bellwether state.
A measles outbreak in Pennsylvania has made public health a sharp issue of attack against the Trump administration, joining the cost of living and the war in Iran as a chief concern among voters that Democrats have seized upon.
And across the country — including in states that have seen hundreds of measles cases this year — Democratic candidates have sought to convert growing distrust for Republicans on public health into political advantage. The biggest outbreaks have centered in deeply red districts in places like Wisconsin, Utah and South Carolina – a state that could elect a Democratic senator who has said she ran in part to push back against Kennedy.
Some see an opportunity to highlight the chaos sown by federal changes to vaccine policy and Americans’ divided views on the health secretary, who espouses skepticism about vaccine safety and has denied that falling immunization rates have led to the rapid spread of infections.
More registered voters trust Democrats than Republicans – 41% compared to 25% — to handle vaccine policy, according to a May KFF poll. Sixty percent of voters said they disapproved of Kennedy’s performance as HHS secretary.
“What we’ve seen is that voters are really turned off by RFK Jr.’s unscientific approach to public health,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, a former Democratic Pennsylvania congressional candidate who founded 314 Action, a political strategy group that funds Democratic candidates with scientific backgrounds.
314 Action has run a six-figure ad campaign in at least five states — including Pennsylvania — expressly linking Republicans in competitive races with Kennedy Jr and unpopular federal policies.
The campaign started in April as measles began spreading in Pennsylvania, where the group is targeting Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, which Republicans narrowly flipped in 2024.
Even some Republicans see eroding trust for the party as it relates to science as a problem. “There’s certainly no shortage of tight election races. Anytime you have a tight race, who knows what’s going to trip the balance for a particular voter?” said Michael Burgess, a former Texas GOP congressman and doctor. “Why take a chance on alienating a potential supporter?” he asked, referring to the messaging on vaccines.
A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted in September that interviewed 896 registered voters nationwide showed that 62% were concerned about measles outbreaks and 55% said they disapproved of how Trump was handling the outbreaks in parts of the US.
For Democrats and their backers, RFK Jr. is seen as the central figure of blame.
“The more that people are reminded of what he’s actually said and done, and the fact that the Republicans have done nothing to try to hold him accountable, I think that does resonate with voters,” said Naughton.
HHS did not respond to a request for comment.
In Pennsylvania, which has seen more than 1,300 cases and five deaths from measles this year, the ongoing health crisis has threaded together Democratic governor Josh Shapiro’s public battles with the Trump administration and his bid to win reelection this November.
Shapiro has openly sparred with federal health officials after Kennedy, in an extraordinary move this summer, questioned whether people had died from the disease and suggested Shapiro’s staff was “fear-mongering” about the severity of its spread.
The feud has frustrated even some Kennedy supporters in the state. A midwife serving measles-stricken communities in the state told CNN that Kennedy “is denying the science” and “has misrepresented the numbers.”
“All that does is create more confusion,” said the midwife, who reported seeing measles cases every day in recent weeks. She asked not to be named, citing concerns about patient privacy.
The debate has forced Shapiro’s opponent, state treasurer Stacy Garrity, to reassure voters that she supports vaccines and distance herself from Kennedy,with whom she appeared at a “Make America Healthy Again” rally in Harrisburg — a fact moderators pointed out at a debate this month.
It was the only MAHA event Kennedy has done in Pennsylvania since measles began to spread.
“That was in support of basically healthy eating for our kids,” Garrity said. “But I’m fully vaccinated. I believe in vaccinations.”
Down ballot, 314 Action’s ads home in on a competitive Pennsylvanian district by claiming that the incumbent GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie “won’t stand up to Trump and RFK Jr.”
The Cook Political Report currently rates the district as a leaning Democrat.
A statewide poll from Franklin and Marshall College this month found that 70% of voters believe the state should be doing more to encourage vaccination. Most Democrats aligned with that belief, as did most independent voters and nearly half — 49% — of Republican voters.
“It’s not the pivotal issue for voters as they weigh rising cost of living and foreign wars, but it’s another on the list of unpopular policies that Republican candidate have to contend with,” said Berwood Yost, the director of the college’s Center for Opinion Research who led the poll.
Voters are “really thinking about Trump and the Trump administration,” he said. “Kennedy’s part of that; he’s part of those policy pronouncements that people might be judging.”
Anthony Kotsagrelos lives with his wife in the Pittsburgh area, where they got their one-year-old son vaccinated for measles last month.
Kotsagrelos, a pediatric medical assistant, told CNN he has seen a “dramatic increase” in vaccine skepticism firsthand since the 2024 election and RFK Jr.’s appointment as HHS Secretary.
“I have some doctors at my job who have been in practice in pediatrics going on 50 years, and they’ve said that this is the worst it’s ever been with vaccine hesitancy, with misinformation,” he said.
He has written letters to RFK Jr. explaining that his vaccine rhetoric has caused “unnecessary deaths” and “unnecessary stress” for parents.
That is translating into political change for people around him, Kotsagrelos said. People in his work and social circles who would have otherwise voted Republican are now leaning left, citing reasons like the return of measles as well as higher gas prices and economic downturn.
“They’ll kind of say like, ‘Well I’ll vote for whoever would keep my kids safe now,’ and that switched from people being against the Democratic Party,” he said.
Outbreaks and a Senate race
A measles outbreak in South Carolina this past year “was definitely one of the main talking points among several subgroups of Annie Andrews supporters” during the primaries, said Scott Huffmon, executive director of Winthrop University’s Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research.
Although it has since dropped off the list of top issues in the Senate race,Andrews, the Democratic nominee and a pediatrician, has said that she was motivated to run for office by Kennedy’s confirmation to lead HHS, arguing that his public messaging and anti-vaccine advocacy eroded public trust in health institutions.
In Spartanburg County last month, Andrews drew applause when she said she’d push to impeach Kennedy if elected. Kennedy has not made any trips to South Carolina since the start of the measles outbreak there last October.
A New York Times/Siena poll puts Andrews in a dead heat with Republican Sen. Darline Graham at 48% among likely voters, making for an unexpectedly competitive race in the deeply red state. Graham was recently appointed to her seat after the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham.
Kathryn Harvey, the Democratic Party chair for Spartanburg County, the epicenter of the state’s measles outbreak that saw 940 cases, said that while it still comes up during town halls and panels Andrews has participated in, other issues have pushed their way to the forefront for voters since the area’s outbreak was declared over in April.
“I think for Annie as a candidate, it’s still top of mind because the outbreak happened on the heels of RFK’s leadership, and we’re just seeing that trickle down happen in our community and it’s also very much a product of the passing of our statehouse laws that relaxed the immunization in our schools,” Harvey said. “It’s just a matter of, is it making the top three issues across the state? And I would say the answer is no, just by proxy of where we are with gas prices and kind of the overarching Republican corruption.”
Besides Andrews, an unprecedented number of doctors and scientists are running for office up and down the ballot this year, noted Naughton. Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed — both doctors — have pointed to Kennedy when attacking the administration and Republicans on health.
This month, Burgess and another former Republican congressmen and doctor, Larry Bucshon of Indiana, warn in Stat News, a medical news outlet, that “silence on vaccines is becoming a dealbreaker for voters who would otherwise vote Republican” and that “Democratic candidates have wasted no time in turning the issue to their advantage.”
Yet RFK Jr.’s vaccine skepticism rhetoric resonates in some conservative communities that prioritize medical freedom, especially for religious reasons. Those can be tricky waters for Democrats to navigate.
Though more than 700 measles cases have been recorded in Utah since June 2025, a vein of support for medical freedom makes blaming the outbreak on MAHA-fanned vaccine skepticism a harder sell.
“There is a ton of this kind of self-determination autonomy, like, ‘I will decide, the government won’t decide,’ in this state,” said Democratic state Sen. Jen Plumb, who also works as an emergency room pediatrician and is running for reelection.
“I know I will alienate those people if I fully share with them why I care so much about vaccines because I will make it seem, whether I want to or not, like they don’t care as much about their kids,” she said. “That’s not going to help their kids or help me help them.”
CNN’s Austin Culpepper and Caitlin McCormack contributed to this report.
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