RNC Launches Multimillion-Dollar Election Integrity Push in 17 States for 2026 Midterms

The Republican National Committee plans to build on its defeat of Virginia's $65 million redistricting ballot measure with a multimillion-dollar election integrity campaign ahead of the 2026 midterms.

RNC Chairman Joe Gruters called the committee "disciplined and ruthless." The push includes hiring directors in 17 states to recruit poll workers, poll watchers and election observers. It also covers legal and Election Day oversight in key battlegrounds, Fox News Digital has learned.

These directors will serve as the legal "eyes and ears on every vote cast and counted" in battlegrounds during the midterms, officials said. The top-down effort echoes President Donald Trump's view that vote counters matter as much as voters.

"President Trump made it clear in 2024: secure our elections — and we haven’t let up since," Gruters said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We’re building a ground game across the country with poll workers, poll watchers and lawyers to protect every legal ballot."

"This is a permanent, nationwide effort backed by legal muscle and disciplined operations. The RNC is all-in, year-round, to safeguard election integrity and ensure only legal votes count," he added.

The RNC seeks to buck history by holding the president's party majorities in the House and Senate. Instead of national election lawyers, it will use local legal experts in key states, a tactic that helped defeat Virginia's ballot measure.

The plan uses data and artificial intelligence for intelligence in battlegrounds. Spending will grow as needed, officials said. The hires form an initial seven-figure investment that builds on 2024 efforts, which recruited more than 230,000 volunteers in 18 states for poll watching, work and legal support, plus over 6,000 volunteer attorneys.

The spending target will rise into tens of millions nationwide. Democrats spent similar sums in Virginia alone, critics noted. RNC officials dismissed complaints from Democrat lawyer Marc Elias, who said last month, "We've got the Republican National Committee waging litigation in courtrooms around the country."

RNC officials called Elias's record against them "terrible." They will hire local experts, not recognizable national names. Officials compared the approach to conservative legal work that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X that Republicans endured unwanted Supreme Court rulings for decades without rigging the court. They worked within the system.

The RNC faces criticism for spending less than Democrats' nearly 3-to-1 edge in Virginia, despite an estimated $800 million war chest. Officials compared the effort to a football team's offensive line: essential but unglamorous.

"Just watch us" get results, they said. The operation covers states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina fully, not just districts. It targets midterms and 2028.

Trump vowed Sunday on Truth Social to deploy a bigger "Election Integrity Army" in 2026. He criticized a Democrat group with Eric Holder and Elias for trying to suppress Republican voters.

"The Democrats are totally unhinged, and we will not allow them to threaten the integrity of our Elections," Trump wrote. Gruters said the first field staff went to 17 battleground states to protect majorities and give Trump four full years.

The RNC kept its 2024 program and now expands it, handling over 130 election cases in 30 states. That includes Virginia Supreme Court challenges, where the court struck down the voter-approved measure Friday.