Two weeks from the midterm elections – with his approval ratings dragging down his congressional allies and threatening his second-term agenda – President Trump is getting even more desperate in his attempt to rig the results.
When Trump returned to the presidency, he was still spouting lies about his 2020 election loss (the same ones that led to the deadly January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol). After his hand-picked conservative majority on the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, he pressured Republican state leaders to change congressional maps in the middle of the decade – suppressing Democratic voters and Black representation, especially in the South. Piling on, he’s also signed executive orders attempting federal takeovers of voter registration and mail-in voting rules.
In states like Georgia, California, and even deep-red Utah, federal agents have raided election offices, confiscated sensitive voter information, and threatened election officials with investigation and arrest.
But Trump’s historically unpopular record on affordability, his war of choice in Iran, his attacks on healthcare, and other top-of-mind issues for voters are outpacing his false claims about “election integrity.” Polls have put otherwise safe Republican seats across the country within reach of Democratic control, with voters of both parties desperate for change.
At the Republican Midterm Convention last month, Trump unveiled a new, even more desperate strategy: outright and overt cheating.
Asking the crowd of party loyalists to raise their right hands across the Dallas arena, he attempted to get everyone on board:
“I pledge, to the greatest president in the history of the United States … that I will go out with my family, my friends, I’ll [vote] any way [I can], I don’t care if I’m registered or not, I’m gonna try and cheat like hell.”
He’s not playing around – and neither should you.
As Election Day gets closer, Trump is only intensifying a dangerous and unpredictable campaign to cast doubt on the integrity of elections and lay the groundwork for a rejection of the results if Republicans lose – openly considering plans to “nationalize” state elections, send troops to polling places, and seize ballots under a (very illegal) federal “emergency.”
Here are five things you can do right now to help stop these attacks and make sure your vote is counted.
Check your voter registration (or register if you haven’t): Thousands of voters across the country are having their registration challenged, and federal officials are making up last-minute rules to turn you away at the polls. Register to vote before your state’s deadline and check to ensure your voter registration information is accurate at peoplefor.org/vote.
Serve as a Poll Worker or Election Observer: Research opportunities in your state or local community to serve as a poll worker or observer during early voting or on Election Day. Having trusted voices helping neighbors easily, safely, and securely cast their vote is needed now more than ever.
Write Your Secretary of State: This often-ignored office has a huge impact on the integrity of elections in your state. Take the time to write, email, call, or tag your Secretary of State ahead of the election, encouraging them to resist Trump’s pressure and maintain free and fair elections for everyone. Find your Secretary of State.
Vote Early: The best way to avoid last-minute interference is to get your vote in early! If your state has mail-in voting or in-person early voting ahead of November 3, take advantage of the extra time and shorter lines. Find out early voting dates in your state and make a plan at peoplefor.org/vote.
Take Five Friends With You: Don’t go alone – we have to make this too big to rig. Make your plan to vote today, share it with 5 friends, and ask them to come with you. Send it to 10 more friends and ask them if they’ve made a plan already. There is power in numbers!
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🗺️FIELD MAP
Five Places / Races I’m Watching Closely this Week
We’re tracking over 100 key races and candidates that are essential to defending freedom, justice, and democracy at every level. Each week, I’ll share five that you should follow, too.
📍 WISCONSIN
Early voting begins in the fight to keep the Governor’s Mansion in Democrats’ control.
With Gov. Tony Evers (D) not seeking re-election, Wisconsin voters start going to the polls to choose their next chief executive today, with cost of living, healthcare, data centers, and Trump’s unpopularity squarely at the center of the conversation. After a tumultuous primary battle, Democrats chose Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley as Evers’ hopeful successor, now in a tight battle with Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany – a key figure in Trump’s 2020 election scheme. Who becomes governor will have a dramatic impact on the futures of Wisconsin voters – and potentially on the future of democracy. Wisconsin has been decided by less than 1% in the last three presidential elections, and Trump sought to overturn his narrow loss in the state in 2020 – an effort stopped only by a Democratic statewide administration.
Early Voting in Wisconsin begins today, Tuesday, October 20th, and ends Sunday, November 1st. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. Make a plan at www.peoplefor.org/vote.
📍 VIRGINIA
Swing districts across the Commonwealth could determine control of the House.
Virginia voters delivered a huge boon to Democratic hopes in last year’s closely watched statewide elections, making Abigail Spanberger the commonwealth’s first woman governor and passing a slew of legislative reforms that set a blueprint for national Democrats, from a $15 minimum wage to a first-in-the-South paid family leave program. They hope to give a Democratic Congress the same opportunity by swinging key U.S. House districts in the midterms. In the Richmond suburbs, Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor is running a close race to unseat 20-year incumbent Rob Wittman, with Cook Political Report’s rating for the 1st district race moved from “Lean Republican” to “Toss-Up” in recent weeks. In the Charlottesville-based 5th district, Tom Perriello is looking to regain the seat he held from 2009-2011, challenging first-term incumbent Republican John McGuire. The congressmen are in a dead heat in a district Trump won by 12 points in 2024.
Early Voting in Virginia is underway and ends Saturday, October 31st. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. Make a plan at www.peoplefor.org/vote.
📍 TEXAS
Early voting begins in nationally-watched Senate showdown.
State Representative James Talarico’s fight to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state since 1988 comes down to the wire as Texas voters begin going to the polls statewide this week. With Talarico focused squarely on affordability and fighting Trump’s corruption, State Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign is floundering. Ethical lapses in and out of office continue to diminish voter confidence, with rumors swirling that party officials are panicked. Recent polls have Talarico and Paxton in a dead heat. Texas Democrats know that turnout, including historic numbers during early voting, will be key to pulling off this generational shift in statewide politics.
Early Voting in Texas is underway and ends Friday, October 30th. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. Make a plan at www.peoplefor.org/vote.
📍 WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mayoral transition and midterm outcome will set the stage in new battle for DC autonomy.
The nation’s capital continues to be ground zero for many of Trump’s most destructive impulses, from the deployment of National Guard troops to the tearing down and unauthorized building of federal monuments. Through both his presidential terms, Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has been Trump’s local foil– at first an outspoken adversary, then a more cautious counterpart under the Republican trifecta. After 12 years on the job, Bowser decided against running for a 4th term and will very likely pass the torch in January to 38-year-old Democratic Socialist Janeese Lewis George – the winner of June’s Democratic Primary, giving her a major structural advantage in deep-blue D.C. Trump has already threatened a fresh showdown with the young new mayor, calling her “radical” and proposing new actions to curtail DC’s already limited Home Rule. In Congress, 18-term Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC’s retiring non-voting delegate, will likely be replaced by DC Councilman Robert White (D). A Democratic Congress will be a necessary line of defense for the city and an essential coalition in the fight for eventual statehood.
📍 FLORIDA
With a tough Senate flip less out of reach, a coalition is forming around Nixon.
Florida Democrats’ nominee for U.S. Senate Angie Nixon, a state representative and mother of five, shocked pundits with her successful populist campaign in the primary and continues to turn heads in a tough general election increasingly defined by affordability. With many polls putting the race within single digits, national Democrats are increasing their investment as Nixon’s grassroots campaign catches fire. On Sunday, Black Men for Angie Nixon hosted an organizing call that featured local and national voices, including Nixon’s husband Jarrett Morene, rapper and activist Killer Mike, Rep. Justin J. Pearson, and Congressman Everton Blair.
I'm glad you included DC's upcoming elections in your post. We are right under the president's nose and in his cross hairs, without the national-level voting representation that would allow us to resist most effectively. But resist we do, and will.