Media Must Take Midterm Interference Warnings Seriously

Sen. Mark Warner’s warning that Donald Trump and his allies are planning a coordinated effort to interfere in the 2026 midterms is not speculation or partisan messaging—it is a serious alarm from a senior lawmaker with deep knowledge of election security threats. Plans to undermine election administration, intimidate officials, and delegitimize results pose a direct risk to democratic governance.

Yet much of the media has treated these warnings as background noise or campaign drama rather than a central democracy story. When coverage minimizes or fragments credible alerts about election interference, it leaves the public unprepared and allows anti-democratic strategies to advance without sustained scrutiny.

We call on major media outlets to cover warnings about midterm interference with urgency, depth, and persistence—connecting the dots, examining the plans being openly discussed, and clearly explaining what is at stake. Democracy depends on a press that treats threats to free and fair elections as front-page news, not as another fleeting political controversy.