Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison used a recent appearance with far-left podcaster Dean Obeidallah to suggest that President Trump and Republicans could try to “steal” the 2026 midterm elections, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.

He also told the left to be prepared to take to the streets if that happens.

The remarks did not come from a random activist shouting from the sidelines. They came from Minnesota’s sitting attorney general, a state official who is raising doubts about the legitimacy of an election before any votes have been counted.

Ellison said Republicans mean to cheat in the midterms and argued that people should be ready to protest. His warning was blunt and combative, and it arrived before voters have cast their ballots in the 2026 contests.

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“Don’t act like, oh, they couldn’t mean that. They mean it…So be ready to get your dukes up,” Ellison said.

Ellison also invoked peaceful protest and the Constitution while describing how he believes the left should respond. “I’m one who believes in peaceful protest, First Amendment.”

He then made clear that he would personally join street demonstrations if he believed votes were being taken away. “But if they try to take our vote away, we should absolutely be in the street. And I’ll be right out there with everybody else.”

Keith Ellison says Republicans mean to cheat in the midterms, and people should be "ready to protest, take to the streets."

"Don't act like, oh, they couldn't mean that. They mean it...So be ready to get your dukes up." "I'm one who believes in peaceful protest, First Amendment." "But if they try to take our vote away, we should absolutely be in the street. And I'll be right out there with everybody else." So the sitting Minnesota AG is casting doubts on the legitimacy of the election before a vote is counted and warning about firing up street mobilization in response. Not too long ago, this kind of rhetoric was deemed by Democrats as A Threat To Democracy -- but now it's just boilerplate Democrat. — Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) October 7, 2026

That leaves the sitting Minnesota attorney general publicly forecasting a possible street confrontation over an election that has not yet happened. Ellison is not merely criticizing Republican election policy after the fact, but alleging in advance that Republicans intend to cheat.

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The sequence is hard to miss. First comes the warning that Republicans “mean” what Ellison says they mean, then the call for supporters to get their “dukes up,” followed by an assurance that he would join them in the street.

Ellison said he supports peaceful protest and cited the First Amendment, but his repeated emphasis on taking to the streets serves as an unmistakable mobilization message. His comments provide a preview of how left-wing activists could respond if Democrats perform badly in the midterms.

The prospect carries an obvious warning for the election season. If Democrats completely bomb in the midterms, people on the left could react furiously, with rioting potentially breaking out in certain locations.

At the same time, Ellison is fighting to keep his job in Minnesota. His legal battles with the Trump Administration are a major part of the record he is defending.

Ellison says his office has become a significant force in battling the Trump Administration. According to Ellison, his office has filed more than 73 lawsuits against the president and kept $7.3 billion flowing into Minnesota through those legal actions.

The lawsuits include challenges to Operation Metro Surge and efforts to obtain evidence in the Renee Good and Alex Pretti killings.

Ellison’s office has also filed actions involving SNAP and Medicaid cuts, clean energy cuts, medical research cuts, and attempts to cut the Department of Education.

Other lawsuits have focused on transgender rights and the Trump tariffs. Ellison presents the litigation as necessary action on behalf of Minnesota and its residents, but Schutz has dismissed the lawsuits as “theater.”

Ellison defended the standards his office applies before filing such cases. “Every lawsuit that we file has to pass two criteria,” Ellison said.

“One, it has to affect Minnesota, and then two, it has to hurt Minnesotans, and it has to be illegal. Obviously it has to be illegal. That is why we file these cases.”

Schutz has also rejected Ellison’s claim that an attorney general can help keep consumer prices low. Schutz called that assertion “simply preposterous.”

Ellison’s remarks place his election rhetoric alongside his aggressive legal campaign against the Trump Administration. While defending more than 73 lawsuits, he is also telling leftists to prepare for street protests based on allegations about an election that remains ahead.

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