{"id":107857,"date":"2026-10-21T17:55:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T21:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theinformant.com\/?p=107857"},"modified":"2026-10-21T17:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T21:55:08","slug":"trump-accepting-2026-midterm-results-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theinformant.com\/?p=107857","title":{"rendered":"70% OF AMERICANS DOUBT TRUMP WOULD ACCEPT REPUBLICAN MIDTERM LOSSES, NEW POLL FINDS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 October 21, 2026.<\/strong> Seven in 10 Americans say they lack confidence that President Donald Trump would accept the results of the November 3 midterm elections if Republicans lose control of Congress, according to a new Washington Post\u2013ABC News\u2013Ipsos poll. The findings reveal a striking contrast: Most Americans believe the elections themselves will be conducted fairly, even as they question the president’s response to a potential Republican defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey, conducted October 9\u201313 and reported October 20, found that approximately 70% of U.S. adults are not confident Trump would accept Republican losses. Only 28% expressed confidence that he would, including 10% who were very confident and 18% who were somewhat confident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOUBTS EXTEND ACROSS PARTY LINES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Skepticism is particularly widespread among Democrats and independent voters. According to the survey, 94% of Democrats and 77% of independents lack confidence that Trump would accept a Republican defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republicans view the question differently. About 63% say they are confident Trump would accept the results, while 36% express doubts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings measure expectations about the president’s potential response, not evidence that he has already rejected the outcome of an election that has yet to take place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MOST AMERICANS STILL TRUST THE ELECTION PROCESS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite concerns about Trump’s response, approximately six in 10 Americans believe the November elections will be conducted fairly and accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confidence is relatively similar among the two major parties, with 70% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans expressing trust in the process. Among independents, that figure falls to 51%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separately, 65% of Americans say they are confident that votes will be counted accurately, almost unchanged from the 66% recorded before the 2022 midterm elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRUMP HAS QUESTIONED ELECTION RESULTS BEFORE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The president’s history of challenging election outcomes provides important context for the survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump continues to dispute his 2020 presidential election defeat despite recounts, court rulings and official reviews that found no evidence of widespread fraud sufficient to change the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When NBC News asked him earlier in 2026 whether he would accept Republican losses in the midterms, Trump said he would do so if the elections were honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His conditional response has drawn attention as officials prepare for possible disputes over voting procedures and the certification of results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STATES CONTROL ELECTION ADMINISTRATION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under the U.S. Constitution and federal law, elections are administered primarily by state and local authorities rather than the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State election officials oversee voting procedures, ballot counting and certification under applicable law, while courts can resolve disputes involving election administration and results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distinction is important because presidential statements about election legitimacy do not independently determine the legally certified outcome of congressional contests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

POLL SHOWS A DIVIDED POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The same polling series found that Trump’s overall job approval stood at 33%, with 66% disapproving of his performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the generic congressional ballot, Democratic candidates led Republicans 52% to 44% among likely voters. Those figures describe national preferences at the time of the survey and do not establish the outcome of individual House or Senate races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election-acceptance findings also show that trust in election administration and confidence in political leaders are separate questions for many Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Washington Post\u2013ABC News\u2013Ipsos survey interviewed 2,545 U.S. adults nationwide between October 9 and October 13 through the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overall margin of sampling error was approximately plus or minus two percentage points. Questions about perceptions of election fairness were asked of a smaller half-sample, producing a larger error margin of approximately 2.8 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with any public opinion survey, the results represent attitudes during the fieldwork period rather than predictions of future conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE NOVEMBER 3 ELECTION?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Americans will vote on November 3 to elect members of the House of Representatives and fill Senate seats, determining the balance of power in Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Election officials will count and certify results according to state and federal requirements, with close races potentially subject to recounts or legal challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether Trump accepts a Republican defeat, should one occur, remains unknown. The poll establishes public expectations before Election Day, not how the president will actually respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the findings highlight a central concern heading into the midterms: Americans may have confidence in the electoral process while holding sharply different expectations about whether political leaders will accept its results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 October 21, 2026. Seven in 10 Americans say they lack confidence that President Donald Trump would accept the results of the November 3 midterm elections if Republicans lose control of Congress, according to a new Washington Post\u2013ABC News\u2013Ipsos poll. The findings reveal a striking contrast: Most Americans believe the elections themselves will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":107858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2209,2191],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-national"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump Accepting 2026 Midterm Results: 70% Doubt It<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trump accepting 2026 midterm results is in doubt for 70% of Americans, a new poll finds, even as most voters express confidence in election fairness.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theinformant.com\/?p=107857\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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