Democrat Abdul El-Sayed courts RFK Jr.'s MAHA voters with new health policy platform
Washington — Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is making a play for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" supporters with the release Tuesday of a new health policy platform.
"I think we have an opportunity to remind folks that we've always been the people who want people to be healthier, rather than the folks who capitulate to the food, ag and pharmaceutical corporations that are too often on the wrong side of things," El-Sayed told CBS News.
The platform, dubbed the Building A Healthier America Policy Agenda, takes aim at pesticides in food, backing legislation that would give people the right to sue pesticide manufacturers over harm caused by the products. It seeks accountability for polluters, with a pledge to get industry lobbyists out of regulatory agencies. And it aims to get substances such as lead and microplastics out of water, in part by strengthening federal drinking water rules. It also proposes investments in school meal programs and grocery stores on wheels.
El-Sayed, a former Michigan health official, has been vocal about healthcare issues along the campaign trail, speaking frequently about Medicare For All alongside a push to get money out of politics and a focus on affordability issues more broadly. Now, he's zeroing in on issues that helped build President Trump's coalition in the 2024 election, as he takes on former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in a closely watched Senate race that could be key to determining which party controls the upper chamber.
El-Sayed said for MAHA voters who largely supported Mr. Trump and the GOP in the last election, "a lot of them felt like Democrats weren't paying enough attention to their fears about healthcare." But he argued that since then, voters have been "completely let down and lied to" on the issues at the root of the agenda.
Since Kennedy endorsed Mr. Trump and galvanized his MAHA supporters, the administration has received praise for its emphasis on elements of the agenda, like phasing out artificial food dyes and encouraging whole-food diets. But it's also faced criticism on issues like pesticides, after the president signed an executive order to give the federal government broad authority to boost the supply of glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup.
The agenda has also been associated with Kennedy's longtime vaccine skepticism, which has been under fire as the U.S. this year has recorded the most measles cases in more than three decades.
Asked about the vaccine dynamic, El-Sayed said he believes he can win over MAHA voters despite differing views on the issue.
"I will always be evidence-driven when it comes to vaccines," El-Sayed said. "But the key thing is that you want to know that what you're feeding your kids and what you're putting in the body is pure. And RFK Jr. and Donald Trump and Mike Rogers have failed that test in droves."
El-Sayed said he's "looking forward to listening and learning," adding that "where there might be disagreements on vaccine policy, I think we all agree that big pharma is a real problem."
"I think they've been completely let down by a Trump administration that has capitulated to the very corporations that are on the wrong side of all their issues — whether it's the pharma industry, or it's big ag, or it's the food manufacturers," El-Sayed said. "I think they've been completely let down and lied to."
Asked whether he would work with Kennedy to try to implement health proposals, should he be elected to the Senate, El-Sayed said it depends.
"Does he want to stand up to pharmaceutical corporations? Do you want to get pollutants out of our food environment? Does he want to stand up to big ag and big food? Does he want to take on ultra processed food? You know, that's what I'm focused on," he said. "If he wants to do any of those things, let's talk about it. But right now, what he's done is DOGE-ed out the parts of government that protect us, and then bent over to all of the corporations he said he'd never support. So I see him as a profound failure for what he said he was trying to work on."
