MAHA Hits Streets of Pennsylvania to Support Trump

By Liam Sturgess, Investigative Reporter, The Kennedy Beacon

With just ten days until the U.S. presidential election, voters have joined an historic alliance between pro-Kennedy and pro-Trump supporters, hitting the streets of Pennsylvania under the unifying banner: Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).

Their goal? To encourage all Americans, but particularly those who live in the pivotal swing state of Pennsylvania, to cast their ballot for Donald Trump – and do so as soon as possible.

American Values 2024 (AV24), an independent super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has partnered with the Mighty American Strike Force (MASF) for an unprecedented get-out-the-vote effort in Pennsylvania, widely recognized as a “crucial swing state” in the 2024 presidential election.

Leading the charge on the ground is AV24’s grassroots organizer, Michael Kane, who helped initiate the AV24-MASF collaboration. “Knocking on doors is a known entity that works,” he said.

“The art of get-out-the-vote is actually less talking and more listening on your part,” added Tom Dans, deputy national director for MASF. “It's not glamorous. It's hard work,” but it “is the most crucial part of the election.” 

Through this partnership, AV24 is supporting MASF’s ground game with volunteers and logistics, as well as providing funding to cover travel expenses and offer a stipend to volunteers traveling from across the country.

Kennedy suspended his campaign on August 23, 2024 after a historic independent run for president, formally endorsing former president Donald Trump at a rally later the same day. In his speech, Kennedy explained that Trump wanted ending America’s chronic disease epidemic “as his legacy,” and invited Kennedy to play a key role in achieving this vision. “If President Trump is elected and honors his word,” Kennedy said, “the vast burden of chronic disease that now demoralizes and bankrupts the country will disappear.”

The MAHA movement has gained significant traction over the last two months, through events such as the MAHA-branded Rescue the Republic rally, in Washington, D.C., where Kane spoke with medical freedom activist Rita Palma, a former Kennedy campaign advisor.

How did the MAHA-MASF partnership come about? According to Palma, who had knocked on doors with MASF in the prior two presidential elections, the group was once again gearing up to hit the PA streets, and suggested AV24 join. After looping in Autism Action Network founder John Gilmore, the trio convinced AV24 cofounder Mark Gorton to join forces with MASF in a final “get-out-the-vote” push, which left Gorton and CEO Candace McDonald “ecstatic.”

Originally called Mighty Texas Strike Force, MASF was founded in 2000 by a group of Texas conservatives to help elect George W. Bush, then governor, to the presidency. As recounted by the New York Post, subsequent elections brought the group to Pennsylvania, “knocking on doors, manning phone banks and making a personal connection with locals.” 

MASF reportedly played a notable role in swinging the state to Trump in 2016, and nearly accomplishing the same in 2020. 

“It’s very unexpected,” said Sue Ironfield, MASF’s chairman for the Mid-Atlantic region, of the alliance. After speaking with Kane, Ironfield explained, “it was like, hey, you know, I think this would work. And so we very quickly unified it.”

Several weeks later, AV24 put out a call for volunteers in The Kennedy Beacon, further amplified by The Gateway Pundit. “It is not lost on Kennedy’s supporters that Trump is the only candidate who has picked up the MAHA agenda, and it’s the MAHA voter who is going to determine who wins the presidency in 2024,” Kane told TGP.

Pennsylvania is increasingly becoming the focal point of the 2024 election, with all eyes scrutinizing the slim margins between Trump and Harris. The Hill reported earlier this month on Decision Desk HQ’s analysis that “whoever wins PA has an [approximately] 85% chance of being the next president.” Election analyst Nate Silver was even more generous, suggesting that “the candidate who wins Pennsylvania has more than a 90% chance of winning the White House,” as quoted by the BBC.

At the time of publication on October 10, Decision Desk HQ had Harris’ odds of winning the state at 52%. Two weeks later, Trump holds the lead with 51%. Meanwhile, the political betting markets at Polymarket believe there is a 61% chance the Republican candidate will take the state, and Silver revealed in a New York Times op-ed that “his ‘gut’” now predicts a Trump victory.

Most notable is the decisive role Kennedy’s supporters are likely to play in deciding the election. As previously reported by the Beacon’s Adam Garrie, recently published data from John Zogby Strategies reveals that 56% of the national “Kennedy Cohort” (voters previously planning to or leaning towards a vote for Kennedy) now plan to vote for Trump. This is even higher in Pennsylvania at nearly 62%, compared to only 32% who plan to vote for Harris.

Importantly, the remaining undecided group is characterized as “persuadable,” making it a crucial voter group for Trump to sway. “Will the persuadables actually vote Trump? No poll can say,” writes Garrie. “But data from Zogby suggests they will. If they do, Trump will win.”

To the MASF leadership team, MAHA is well-positioned to be the deciding factor in tilting the election to Trump, by galvanizing voters around its strong, common-sense messaging. “There's a lot of intersectionality between MAHA and MAGA,” Dans told the Beacon. “Really focusing our resources on making a healthier, stronger, safer America… 100%. That's what we all want. I think Democrats and Republicans want this.”

Having grown up admiring John and Robert Kennedy, and later serving in the Trump administration at the Treasury Department and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Dans recognizes the bipartisan and unifying nature of Kennedy’s MAHA platform, and welcomes the army of volunteers that has stepped forward. “We've got a tremendous response from the MAHA crowd, from AV24,” Dans explained, “so right now it's drinking from a firehose.” 

According to Kane, the initial October 13 training session drew around 150 attendees, with double that number requesting more information. An additional hundred reached out in the days that preceded the group’s first outing in Bucks County last weekend. “There is an excitement among these people who have given blood for Bobby, and are thirsty for more,” explains Kane, noting volunteers were paying their own way to fly from as far as Texas, with many even declining the $150/day stipend offered by AV24.

While a Trump/Kennedy victory is the outcome MASF and its MAHA allies are working towards, the real accomplishment lies in bringing together previously divided communities. “I really pray, whatever the outcome is, that America comes together very quickly and supports the winner here, and that we really have this period of healing,” offered Dans, echoing similar comments made by both Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, and his Democratic opponent, Tim Walz, during their vice presidential debate. “We recognize that there’s always going to be areas of policy we’re not going to be in total alignment with,” added Dans, “but let’s accentuate the positives here… this is a unity ticket.”

From now until election day, that unity of purpose, shared by MAHA and MASF, will be on full display in Bucks County and other strategic locations in Pennsylvania. 

“We’re going to leave an impact one way or another in this election,” said Kane, who added that anyone interested in joining AV24’s and MASF’s efforts should contact him at mkane@av24.org.

Liam Sturgess is an investigative reporter for The Kennedy Beacon. He is also a writer for the Canadian Citizens Care Alliance and founder of White Rose Intelligence. He was the founding co-host and producer of the Rounding the Earth podcast, and publishes a Substack series called Microjourneys.