Most Americans feel confident that next month’s midterm elections will be conducted fairly, yet a significant majority express deep doubt that President Donald Trump would accept the results if Republicans lose. This finding comes from a recent poll conducted by The Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos. While 6 in 10 Americans say they are confident the midterms will be fair, the outlook on whether the President would concede in the event of a loss is quite different.
Seven in 10 Americans lack confidence that the President would accept the results if his party lost. These doubts are not limited to one side of the political aisle, as they even extend into the Republican Party itself. Thirty-six percent of Republicans say they are not confident the President would accept GOP losses, along with 77 percent of independents and 94 percent of Democrats.
The President has spent years casting doubt on elections. When asked by NBC News in February whether he would trust the results if Republicans lost Congress, he said, “I will if the elections are honest.” He has also hammered on false claims that he won in 2020 and insisted without evidence that he received more votes in 2016 than official results show.
Some voters share concerns about Trump’s potential reaction to a loss
“He has to throw dirt on it if it doesn’t come out his way, period,” said Jonnie Smith, 69, a human resources manager from Johnson City, Tennessee, who typically votes for Republicans but opposes the President. “He’s shown us that every time he loses.” Gary Podbielski, 67, a retired information technology manager in the Houston area, echoed this sentiment. “He’ll fight it,” Podbielski said. “He’ll say something stupid.”
Despite these concerns, there is a surprising amount of consensus regarding the mechanics of the voting process. Sixty-five percent of Americans say they are confident votes will be counted accurately. Democrats and Republicans agree nearly identically on whether the elections will be fair and accurate, with 70 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans expressing confidence.
The poll was conducted online October 9 through October 13 among 2,545 U.S. adults nationwide. It is worth noting that Republican confidence is much higher today than on the eve of the 2024 election. At that time, an ABC News-Ipsos poll found 49 percent were confident that votes would be counted accurately.
Some voters hold onto a sense of trust in the system despite the political noise. “I always do feel that the elections are fair,” said Patty Nelson, a 58-year-old executive assistant in Jonesboro, Arkansas. “I feel like we have a [voting] system in America that works.”
Others are less convinced. Jennifer Fenderson, a 41-year-old nurse in Leesburg, Florida, remains skeptical about the process. “They’re never fair when it comes down to voting,” she said. “We just vote, but I don’t know if our vote really matters or not — or if they already have who they want selected.”
The President has previously suggested he wants to nationalize the voting process and take over elections. In a January interview with the New York Times, he said he regretted not having troops take possession of voting machines after he lost in 2020.
Local election officials have reported that they are preparing for the possibility of seized ballots and federal agents at the polls. While the Constitution gives states the power to administer elections, the President has consistently sought to influence how they are run.
Published: Oct 20, 2026 12:45 pm