Women Voters Weigh Food and Healthcare Costs
Female voters reported greater concern about grocery and healthcare costs than male voters in the midterm exit polls.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Organic Food
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Exit polling from NBC News after the 2026 midterm elections found that MAHA supporters were a smaller share of women voters than non-supporters, and that women voters reported greater concern about healthcare and grocery costs than men. MAHA influencers have blamed broken Trump administration promises on pesticides and food costs for weakened turnout among female swing voters.
Why it matters
The debate centers on whether pesticide policy and food and healthcare affordability are shaping how Americans, particularly women who make many household food and health decisions, engage with politics. Economic strain on families has reduced MAHA's influence compared to 2024, according to the reporting.
The figures come from NBC News exit polling conducted on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and compare subgroups of women and men on MAHA identification, healthcare costs, and food costs. Exit polls capture a snapshot of voters as they leave polling places and do not establish causes for how people voted.
The players
NBC News
A national broadcast news network whose exit polling of midterm voters provided the demographic figures in this report.
Bayer
A multinational pharmaceutical and crop science company that manufactures glyphosate-based herbicides and was granted legal liability protection by the Supreme Court.
Vani Hari
A food activist known as the Food Babe, who has campaigned against food additives and pesticides and commented on broken pesticide promises.
The details
The Trump administration signed an executive order in February 2026 to boost domestic production of the pesticide glyphosate, and sided with Bayer before the Supreme Court over glyphosate cancer-disclosure requirements. The Supreme Court granted Bayer legal liability protection. Alex Clark Voetberg attributed low female swing-voter turnout among MAHA supporters to broken promises on MAHA, war, Epstein, and affordability, and Vani Hari said conservative women would not feel called to vote over broken promises on pesticides and the war in Iran.
Timeline
February 2026: Trump signs executive order boosting glyphosate production.
April 2026: Vani Hari comments on broken pesticide and Iran promises.
November 3, 2026: Midterm election; NBC exit polling conducted on Election Day.
Health Landscape
The MAHA movement built a voter coalition around pesticide regulation and food-additive concerns, and the 2026 exit polling is being read as a test of whether that coalition holds when families are strained by costs. The reported drop in MAHA's influence compared to 2024 places the current debate within a broader pattern of food and healthcare affordability shaping public health politics.
If pesticide exposure or food additives are a concern for you, the debate highlights an area worth raising with your doctor or a registered dietitian rather than changing habits based on political claims. Healthcare and grocery costs are a shared concern in this data, so tracking your own food and care spending may help you plan choices that fit your budget.
The takeaway
Cost concerns, not only pesticide policy, appear to be shaping how voters in this exit poll view the administration's health promises. Discuss any personal pesticide or food questions with your physician or a registered dietitian.
Further reading
For more on the food-policy debate behind these numbers, explore Organic Food.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Washington Examiner.
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Do you trust the federal government to keep its promises on food and grocery costs?
