An accurate vote count and public acceptance of an election are two different problems. The defining political struggle of this moment may not be over votes, policies, or even elections themselves.

It may be over legitimacy.

Elections, courts, journalists, and professional administrators function as society's fact-finding and dispute-resolution mechanisms. When confidence in those institutions declines simultaneously, political conflict increasingly shifts from debating policy to debating reality itself. From an intelligence perspective, that trend deserves far more attention than any single controversy currently dominating the news cycle.

Stan Scott and Scott Konopasek examine the 2026 midterms through an intelligence lens: what the evidence shows, what we can reasonably infer, and what would change the assessment. We discuss the Alaska certification lawsuit, California’s dispute with DOJ over suspected noncitizen registrations and ballot handling, the role of political narratives, and safeguards that can keep a disputed election on track.

We also consider concentrated political resources and Project 2025’s approach to executive personnel control.

Two Crusty Old Combat Soldiers with a Microphone is a Foggy Bottom Line Media production.

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