The Road To The Midterms And The Debate Over Election Security

The Fox News Rundown

FOX News Podcasts

News, Daily News, Politics

3.4 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As the 2026 midterm season kicks off with primaries in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas, the political landscape is being shaped by President Trump’s push for increased federal involvement in election oversight. This movement coincides with raids of election facilities in Georgia and Puerto Rico, as the administration continues to re-examine the results of the 2020 election. Republican strategist and co-founder of South and Hill Strategies, Colin Reed, joins the Rundown to break down the key issues taking center stage as candidates begin their fight for party wins. President Trump has signaled a renewed focus on veterans' health care, highlighting a significant reduction in benefit claim backlogs and a record number of homeless veterans being placed in permanent housing during the first year of his second term. Building on the reforms started during his first administration, the current leadership is pushing for a "generational change" intended to shift the focus from bureaucracy to individual patient needs. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, discusses the ongoing mission to eliminate wait times and address the critical issues of veteran homelessness and suicide. Plus, commentary by Riley Gaines, political activist, 12-time NCAA All-American and host of "The Riley Gaines Show" podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Ben Dominic. I'm Madison Allworth. I'm Stuart Varnie, and this is the Fox News Rundown.
0:08.4	Monday, February 9th, 2026. I'm Grinnell Scott. In a little less than a month, the first primaries of
0:16.1	26 leading up to the midterms in November will be contested. What are the issues that will be center stage as candidates seek to carry the flags for their parties?
0:25.6	You've got the state of the union coming up in just two weeks.
0:28.6	That'll be a nice chance for the president to really hit the reset button,
0:32.6	refocus the national attention on where he wants to take the country over these next few months and command that bullet pulpit like he has the ability to do it unlike anybody else.
0:42.2	I'm Lisa Brady.
0:43.4	The head of the largest health care system in the U.S., the VA, says they're working on generational change.
0:49.8	What we're changing and what we're doing is about a veteran getting the help that they need
0:53.7	and not about an organization. I think that's what's been overshadowed.
0:56.6	We speak with VA Secretary Doug Collins.
0:59.7	And I'm Riley Gaines. I've got the final word on the Fox News rundown.
1:08.6	In just a little less than a month on March 3rd, three states, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas will hold primary elections.
1:16.7	Mississippi will follow March 10th, Illinois, March 17th.
1:21.1	It's the start of the run-up to the midterms, just as President Trump said from the Oval Office that the federal government should have more of a say in running elections.
1:30.9	Take a look at Detroit. Take a look at Pennsylvania. Take a look at Philadelphia. You go take a look at Atlanta.
1:37.4	Look at some of the places that are horrible corruption on elections. And the federal government should not allow that.
1:45.5	The federal government should get involved. This is in line with raids of Georgia and Puerto Rico election facilities to re-examine
1:52.2	2020 election results. Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was involved with both.
1:58.3	White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt took time during a briefing to say that
2:03.0	this all happened because election security is essential to national security. And as the director
2:08.8	of national intelligence, it is a part of Ms. Gabbard's role to make sure that American elections
	...

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