Democrats see a plan to undermine elections in Trump's surge of federal agents in cities

Source: NBC News

Nov. 19, 2025, 12:53 PM EST


Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker often warns that President Donald Trump may deploy military-style forces during the midterms to intimidate voters. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has said Trump is signaling to supporters that he would forgive political violence on his behalf in future elections. And California Gov. Gavin Newsom has cast doubt on whether those elections will occur at all.

For months, the Trump administration has surged immigration agents and National Guard troops in Democratic-run cities, citing emergencies tied to crime or immigration. But leading elected officials on the left have increasingly speculated something far darker is afoot: a plan to undermine future elections.

“They clearly are looking to do everything to discredit elections, to sow distrust and claim fraud when they lose in 2026,” Pritzker said in an interview. “I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I don’t think like one. But it’s hard to avoid the evidence here. … When you put all this together, it’s hard not to wonder and think seriously that there is something in this about the 2026 elections for Donald Trump.” Speculation that Trump may try to protect his power at all costs has become a central tenet for Pritzker and Newsom, both widely viewed as potential 2028 contenders, in their counter-offensives against the president.

Republicans have rejected Democrats’ accusations, calling them irresponsible and dismissing them as scare tactics without evidence. It all amounts to an escalation in pointed Democratic allegations of Republican election-meddling, which in the past had centered on voter access issues and an overall warning that democracy was at stake. Republicans, led by Trump, accused the left of “rigging” the 2020 election, and before the 2024 presidential race, he repeatedly insisted that Democrats were trying to cheat.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/democrats-plan-undermine-elections-trump-surge-federal-agents-rcna242599