Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats are preparing for President Donald Trump to try to interfere with the 2026 midterm elections, and he argued that immigration enforcement raids in major cities are creating chaos that voters will reject in November.
Schumer made the comments in an edited telephone interview with The Associated Press, describing Democrats as ready for disruption and challenging any attempt to interfere with the vote count. He also said he expects former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola’s entry into the Senate race to give Democrats a path to the majority.
Asked about concerns that Trump might try to prevent an open and fair midterm election or dispute results afterward, Schumer said, “We share them,” and said Democrats already have “teams of both senators and lawyers looking at every way that Trump could try to screw things up.” He said Democrats are also preparing “a team to make sure that they count the votes fairly,” adding that “a lot of the election mechanisms are done by the states,” and that “even in red states, there’s resistance to Trump interfering.”
Schumer said he believes Democrats will succeed despite expectations of confrontation from the White House. He said, “Trump will do whatever it takes,” and he described the president as having “no honor and no credibility and no respect for law,” while also saying, “we are prepared for it.”
In the interview, Schumer said the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids is contributing to voter anger early in the election cycle. He said, “People don’t like chaos,” and he argued that cities and mayors he described as previously “perfectly calm and safe” are now facing “all of this chaos.” He said the effects are tied to what voters most care about: “as I said, cost is number one,” alongside “it’s costs, corruption and chaos.”
Schumer said Democrats’ campaign will emphasize costs, chaos and corruption they associate with the Trump administration. He said economic concerns have “begun to cement” in voters’ minds, and he said the party is focusing on lowering costs for American families.
Schumer said the central economic issue is whether households can afford everyday bills. He said, “The number one thing that bothers American families is they can’t pay all the bills,” and he said “the cost of living” and affordability are the “number one issue.” He also cited what he described as policy changes affecting health care and energy, saying Republicans are not extending ACA tax credits and are “getting rid of clean energy, wind and solar,” while raising “their electric bills with tariffs,” which he said increases prices.
Schumer said Democrats would prioritize five issues aimed at reducing costs: “health care, housing, tariffs,” “food prices,” because of what he called “food monopolies,” and “child care.” He added that he believes people are increasingly realizing that Trump is “hurting them,” and he said conditions are improving for Democrats.
On the broader congressional landscape, Schumer said he expects the Senate to be more competitive than skeptics have suggested. He said that, early in the prior year, people argued Democrats could win the House but not the Senate, but he said the House and Senate had been “largely in sync” on issues he discussed and that those messages are resonating with “the American people.”
He said the gap between House and Senate prospects has “greatly decreased,” and he argued Democrats have a “much wider path” back to the Senate majority than skeptics think—“certainly” wider than “three months ago” and “a year ago.” He said he feels Democrats will again be in the majority.
Schumer also discussed voter shifts he said are benefiting Democrats, focusing on younger and non-white voters. He said the cost issue is having an effect “already,” and he cited 2025 state election results in which he said Democratic candidates won by double digits, including his claim that Democrat Abigail Spanberger won by 15 points in Virginia and Democrat Mikie Sherrill won by 13 points in 2025 governor’s races. He also said Democrats won elections in Georgia, and he argued that voters “don’t think Trump was serving them well,” describing a “turnaround about Trump.”
The White House called similar Democratic warnings fearmongering, according to Schumer’s account of the administration’s response.