US Lawmakers Warn of Russian Influence Campaign Targeting Democrats Ahead of Midterms

Two senior US congressional Democrats say the Russian government is trying to harm the Democratic Party and erode voter confidence ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said a classified intelligence assessment shared with Congress also found that China is again running targeted influence efforts, as are other foreign powers such as Iran and North Korea. Senator Mark Warner said Russia has spread disinformation to undermine Democrats in every election cycle since 2016.

Himes described the Russian approach as throwing everything out there to create chaos, including messages encouraging distrust of institutions and voting machines. Both lawmakers were cautious about how explicit the Kremlin's actions have been, though they suggested US support for Ukraine is being used as a wedge issue, as it was in the 2022 midterms.

Importantly, the lawmakers stressed that the latest update showed no country is pursuing the technically difficult task of hacking election infrastructure or tampering directly with votes. Himes said nothing suggests the capability or intent for that kind of interference, while the influence environment remains robust. The findings come amid concern from Democrats and election officials about misinformation and conspiracy theories around the vote. This summary covers only the opening of the original report.