United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

Arizona voters head to the polls Tuesday to decide all nine U.S. House seats, currently split six Republican to three Democratic. The most closely watched contest is the open 1st District, vacated by Rep. David Schweikert (R), who ran unsuccessfully for governor instead of seeking reelection. Trump-backed former NFL kicker Jay Feely faces Democratic state Rep. Amish Shah, a physician who once worked alongside Feely with the New York Jets. In the 6th District, Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani, who won narrowly in 2024, defends his seat against retired Marine JoAnna Mendoza in a race Democrats have targeted heavily this cycle. Polls close at 9 p.m. EST.

Michigan has drawn an unusual surge of high-profile political visits ahead of its Nov. 3 election, with Barack Obama, Donald Trump, RFK Jr., Bernie Sanders, and JD Vance all appearing within days of each other. Analysts say the attention, backed by hundreds of millions in ad spending, stems largely from the competitive U.S. Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters.

With Democrats needing four seats to flip the Senate, Michigan's contest, along with competitive House races and open contests for governor, attorney general, and secretary of state, has made the historically swing state a top national target this midterm cycle.

Project 50, a political group founded by Illinois abortion-rights veterans including former state Sen. Heather Steans and ex-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is working to replicate Illinois' decades-old shift toward abortion access by targeting state legislative races in conservative states with bans or heavy restrictions. After early setbacks in Arizona, the group refocused on culturally conservative states in 2023, winning three races in its first three years and four more in 2025, including in Virginia. It has raised over $3.7 million from donors such as Michael Bloomberg and Gov. JB Pritzker. Organizers say the strategy targets voters uneasy with total abortion bans, not broad support for unrestricted access. Abortion-rights opponents call its electoral impact limited so far.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called Iowa's upcoming election "the most important" in the country at a Make America Healthy Again rally days before Election Day, endorsing Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn and congressional candidate Joe Mitchell. The event, organized by MAHA PAC, centered on "food freedom" and "medical freedom," with the PAC committing over $1.9 million to Lahn and six House candidates. Lahn backed removing COVID-19 vaccines from the market and regenerative farming to lower food costs. Democratic rivals Rob Sand and Lindsay for Iowa campaigns criticized the candidates' health care stances, citing Iowa's rising cancer rates and opposition to Medicaid and mRNA vaccine access.

Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton met on CNN for a debate ahead of California's Nov. 3 gubernatorial election, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. The exchange was widely panned as lackluster, with both candidates drawing criticism for weak performances. Becerra, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, repeated claims that he has "fought all my life to defend immigrants," a record critics dispute given his quiet stance during the Obama administration's deportation policies. He also accused Hilton of wanting to "welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me," a remark Hilton called "disgraceful."

Hilton, a former Fox News host who received Donald Trump's primary endorsement, avoided directly answering whether he'd direct state law enforcement to assist federal immigration enforcement. Polling from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows Becerra with a substantial lead and more favorable overall ratings than Hilton heading into the final weeks of the race.

Utah's Department of Health and Human Services is disputing claims from CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz that the state showed zero overpayments recovered in Medicaid managed care. Utah officials say CMS federal reporting systems failed to accurately reflect data the state had submitted, which included 133 fraud referrals drawn from nearly 200 cases investigated by managed care plans.

Oz had singled out Utah along with Arizona, California, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, questioning how states serving millions of Medicaid beneficiaries could report no recovered overpayments. He gave the states 30 days to verify their numbers, warning the pattern could reflect a data error or a deeper oversight failure. Utah says it will comply with the review and work with CMS to clarify its reporting, while noting it already partners with the Office of Inspector General and the state Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to pursue fraud cases.

The dispute comes as broader Medicaid eligibility changes under H.R. 1 begin phasing out coverage for several immigrant categories.

A recent Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll shows Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton with support from 37% of California voters, trailing Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, who holds 55%. About 7% remain undecided. The two are set to meet in their first debate on September 30 in Los Angeles, televised on CNN, which could shift the current standing.

Hilton, a former strategist for ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron and a Brexit supporter, has never held elected office and only became a U.S. citizen in 2021 after relocating to California in 2012. He has received an endorsement from President Donald Trump, whose immigration policies contrast with Hilton's own background as the son of Hungarian refugees. Despite trailing significantly, Hilton is seen as outperforming typical Republican prospects in heavily Democratic California, where registered Republicans make up about 25% of voters compared to 45% who are Democrats. Polling could shift meaningfully once debate performances are factored in.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro accused Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of contributing to two measles-related deaths in the state, saying rhetoric from Kennedy's agency has "real-life consequences" and reflects reliance on unvaccinated messaging over medical expertise. Kennedy pushed back, calling Shapiro's remarks "a replay of Democrats' COVID playbook," citing fearmongering and political exploitation of disease fears.

Pennsylvania's health department described the fatalities as "measles-associated deaths" rather than deaths caused directly by measles. One case involved a newborn whose Lancaster County coroner attributed death to a spleen laceration, though postmortem testing found a measles infection acquired before birth. Critics note infants are not eligible for MMR vaccination until 12 to 15 months old, raising questions about how the deaths were characterized in initial media coverage.

The dispute highlights ongoing tension between state officials and federal health leadership over messaging on vaccines and infectious disease, with each side accusing the other of misrepresenting facts for political advantage.