Washington, D.C. – In a stunning reversal of 2020 election narratives, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, warned Monday that Republicans are plotting to “cheat” in the 2026 midterms using Dominion voting machines, urging all 50 states to abolish the technology. The fiery Democrat’s accusation, made on the podcast “Defending Democracy with Marc Elias,” flips the script on past GOP claims that Dominion rigged the 2020 vote against Donald Trump, now suggesting a pro-Trump buyer could flip the machines for partisan gain.
Crockett’s alarm centers on October’s acquisition of Dominion by Liberty Vote, founded by Scott Leiendecker, a former GOP election reform advocate and Trump supporter. “We know one of [Trump’s] friends has purchased Dominion,” she said, speculating the deal enables “potential manipulation” to “play with the machines.” Leiendecker, who overlapped with Trump ally Ed Martin in St. Louis elections, pledged “100% American-owned” systems with paper ballots and audits, compliant with Trump’s March executive order on security. Crockett called for secretaries of state to “educate” and reject Dominion, echoing ironic echoes of Trump’s “very suspect” jabs that led to Dominion’s $787.5 million Fox settlement.
The podcast, hosted by Democratic elections lawyer Marc Elias, amplified Crockett’s fears amid Trump’s 2.1 million deportations and a 36-day shutdown freezing SNAP for 42 million. “They’re trying to cheat by changing lines for the midterms,” she claimed, tying it to GOP gerrymandering. Conservatives pounced on the hypocrisy. “Crockett goes full MAGA—now Dominion’s the villain?” mocked Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., noting Dominion’s use in Trump’s 2016 and 2024 wins.
Legal experts dismiss rigging fears as baseless—Dominion’s machines are audited, and noncitizen voting is a felony with zero widespread evidence. Yet Crockett’s call risks eroding trust in a system already scarred by 2020 scars. As midterms ballots drop, her warning tests democracy’s fragile faith: Projection or precaution? In a house of mirrors, the accuser becomes the accused.
