States Prepare as Trump Election Interference Fears Rise

A small group of U.S. national security officials has privately urged state governments and members of Congress to prepare for possible Trump administration interference in November’s midterm elections, according to people involved. Their advice has reached governors, election stewards and lawmakers from both parties.

A Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 7 in 10 Americans lack confidence that President Donald Trump would accept the election results if Republicans lose. Most Americans, by contrast, believe the elections themselves will be conducted fairly.

Private Preparations

The officials have kept their work discreet. People involved told reporters the effort has reached state governments and members of Congress, but the account doesn’t identify the officials, states or lawmakers, or specify what preparations they discussed.

The advice responds to the possibility that the Trump administration will try to interfere in the midterms. The report describes a concern officials are preparing for, not an interference attempt that has already occurred. It offers no details about what possible interference might look like.

Governors, election stewards and lawmakers from both parties are part of the effort. The account doesn’t name anyone involved or describe how they responded. It also doesn’t say whether the officials’ advice prompted any changes to election procedures.

Public Confidence and Political Power

The poll separates confidence in how the election will be conducted from confidence in whether Trump would accept its outcome. Most Americans said they expect the midterms to be conducted fairly, while 7 in 10 lack confidence that Trump would accept a Republican loss.

The poll report doesn’t provide a sample size, margin of error or party breakdown in the material provided. Nor does it give the precise share of respondents who said they believe Trump would accept a loss. The published finding specifically concerns a possible Republican defeat and Trump’s response to that result.

Trump took questions from news media before leaving the White House for a political rally in Kansas on Monday. He also spoke at a midterm campaign rally at Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky, on October 17, 2026. The account gives no remarks from either appearance about accepting election results.

What the Account Leaves Unspecified

The reporting names no corporate interests, financial beneficiaries or economic costs tied to the election concerns. It doesn’t describe effects on workers or economically dispossessed people, and it reports no union, movement, strike or other organized response. The advice to state governments and lawmakers is the only preparation effort it describes.

The account also includes no proposed legislation, public reform plan or government order. It doesn’t say the national security officials acted under a formal mandate or that state governments adopted a shared response. The officials’ advice remains private; the available details stop at the groups it reached and the possibility it addresses.

Noah Robertson wrote the first report. Patrick Marley and Scott Clement wrote the poll report. Together, the findings describe two parts of the same midterm concern: officials quietly advising states and lawmakers about possible interference, and a poll showing widespread doubt that Trump would accept a Republican loss.