Election Deniers Dismiss Poor GOP Polling as Democratic Psyop

Following the lead of President Donald Trump, members of the election denial movement are rejecting unfavorable Republican midterm polling data by characterizing it as a manufactured disinformation campaign intended to suppress voter turnout.

Kevin Roberts, head of the Heritage Foundation, described the polling landscape to Fox News as a “psyop” designed to depress conservative enthusiasm. Similarly, Phillip Buchanan, a prominent MAGA influencer and election denier known online as Catturd, told his four million followers on X that the “laughable fake polls” were being released to undermine the midterms.

This rhetoric mirrors Trump’s long-standing baseless allegations that American elections are subject to widespread fraud. After his defeat in 2020, a robust ecosystem of denial groups emerged to propagate the claim that Joe Biden unlawfully stole the presidency. These narratives have since become entrenched in the Republican Party, with hundreds of GOP candidates running for federal and statewide office this November questioning the integrity of the U.S. electoral system.

Current polling indicates Trump’s approval ratings have dropped to historic lows, with Democrats holding leads in Senate races across states that Trump narrowly won in 2024. According to a Reuters report, Republican operatives are now diverting significant funding into dozens of races previously considered secure.

Media watchdog Media Matters for America analyzed that Trump has referred to polls as fake 39 times since resuming office last year, including nine instances in August alone. Last month, he posted on Truth Social that the surveys were “demoralization operations” orchestrated by Democrats to discourage Republican participation. On Monday, while speaking from the Oval Office regarding poor poll numbers in Iowa, Trump reiterated, “The polls are fake.”