RNC Announces Multimillion-Dollar Expansion of Election Oversight Program Ahead of 2026 Midterms

The Republican National Committee has launched a multimillion-dollar election integrity push ahead of the 2026 midterms, hiring directors in 17 states to recruit poll workers, poll watchers and election observers while coordinating legal and Election Day oversight across key battlegrounds.

The RNC deployed its first wave of field staff to 17 battleground states on Sunday, according to Chairman Joe Gruters. The new state directors will serve as the legal "eyes and ears on every vote cast and counted" in battleground states.

They will oversee poll worker and poll watcher recruitment, coordinate with attorneys and support Election Day operations. The RNC kept its election integrity program intact after the 2024 election. It is expanding poll worker recruitment in 17 target states while growing operations in non-target states.

The operation will cover entire states rather than only targeted congressional districts. The RNC's initial field investment is a seven-figure amount that includes states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina. That spending is expected to climb into the tens of millions nationwide and will take up the bulk of RNC spending up to eight figures.

The spending and swath of the operation will expand as conditions on the ground warrant. Democrats spent comparable amounts in Virginia alone on the redistricting ballot measure, according to critics. The Virginia Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved redistricting measure on Friday.

The RNC led legal challenges related to the Virginia Supreme Court redistricting decision largely behind the scenes. Rather than relying on high-profile national election attorneys, the RNC is turning to local legal experts in key states. Officials said that strategy proved effective in Virginia.

The RNC plan revolves around smart data and artificial intelligence to feed actual, actionable intelligence. The RNC is currently involved in more than 130 active election integrity cases across 30 states. Its 2024 election integrity operation recruited more than 230,000 volunteers in 18 target states for poll watching, poll work and legal support.

That operation also included more than 6,000 volunteer attorneys both remotely and on the ground. "President Trump made it clear in 2024: secure our elections — and we haven’t let up since," Joe Gruters said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "This is a permanent, nationwide effort backed by legal muscle and disciplined operations.

President Trump stated, "During my Historic Election in 2024, when I won every single Swing State, and decisively won both the Electoral and Popular votes by wide margins, the Republicans had an Election Integrity Army in every single State to preserve the sanctity of each legal vote. Fox News reported that the RNC effort coordinates legal and Election Day oversight across key battlegrounds.

The committee described the overall approach as disciplined and ruthless. The RNC is aiming to defy history in maintaining the president's party majority in the House and Senate through a midterm election.

The RNC said it is aggressively fundraising while remaining targeted in its resource allocation.