Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich came forward with an explosive claim on Tuesday: As a longtime Democratic insider and former governor, Blaojevich confessed that Democrats are committing widespread fraud and buying votes.
Specifically, Blagojevich endorsed billionaire Elon Musk’s claim that Democrats are knowingly using fraudulent government welfare programs to attract immigrants and secure their votes.
Musk, who previously led the Department of Government Efficiency under President Donald Trump, has made sweeping allegations about Democratic immigration strategy in recent weeks.
In a December 27 post on X, Musk wrote: “The radical left has been using fraudulent government programs for a long time to import and retain vast numbers of illegal (and legal, in some cases) immigrants to win elections and turn America into a single-party state, destroying any real democracy.”
Blagojevich, a twice-elected Democratic governor who served from 2003 to 2009, confirmed Musk’s allegations.
“As a twice elected Dem Governor who knows how the Dem Party operates, this I believe to be true,” he replied.
During an appearance on Senator Ted Cruz’s podcast “The Verdict,” Musk estimated fraud at the federal level to be at $100 billion to $200 billion annually.
“By using entitlements fraud, the Democrats have been able to attract and retain vast numbers of illegal immigrants and buy voters,” Musk said. “Basically, bring in 10, 20 million people who are beholden to the Democrats for government handouts and will vote overwhelmingly Democrat, as has been demonstrated in California.”
Musk said the fraud involves multiple federal programs including Social Security, Medicare, unemployment benefits, disability programs, and Small Business Administration loans.
“The single biggest thing that they’re worried about is that DOGE is going to turn off fraudulent payments of entitlements,” Musk said. He told Cruz that is “why they really hate my guts and want me to die.”
“It doesn’t take much to turn the swing states blue. I mean, often a swing state be won by 10-20,000 votes. So the Dems can bring in 200,000 illegals, and over time, get them legalized,” Musk said would lead to “permanent, Deep Blue, socialist state, the House, the Senate, the presidency and the Supreme Court will all go hardcore Dem.”
In December 2008, FBI special agents arrested Blagojevich on conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud charges. Federal prosecutors alleged that Blagojevich attempted to sell then-President Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.
Wiretapped recordings captured Blagojevich discussing the Senate appointment in expletive-filled language: “I’ve got this thing, and it’s f*****g golden. And I’m just not giving it up for f*****g nothing.”
Blagojevich was convicted in June 2011 on 17 federal charges and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He served nearly eight years before Trump commuted his sentence in February 2020. Trump issued a full pardon to Blagojevich in February 2025, clearing his criminal record.
Since his release, Blagojevich has become a vocal Trump supporter, calling himself a “Trumpocrat.”
“Trump rescued me,” Blagojevich said in a 2022 interview. “How could I not be a Trump-o-crat and support him personally for what he did for me?”
This is not the first time Blagojevich has said there is widespread voter fraud within the Democratic Party.
In November 2020, following Trump’s defeat in the presidential election, Blagojevich told Newsmax TV that voter fraud in big Democrat-controlled cities is a “time-honored tradition.”
“If the question is, ‘Are Democrats stealing votes in Philadelphia?’ my answer is, ‘Is the Pope Catholic?'” Blagojevich said during the interview. “It’s a time-honored tradition in big, Democrat-controlled cities like Chicago and my hometown, Philadelphia, to do precisely what they’re doing.”
“They control polling places, they stop votes when their candidate’s behind, and then in wee hours of the morning, in the dark of night, the stealing starts.”
The former governor has also repeatedly criticized the Democratic Party since his release from prison.
The “lunatics have taken over the asylum” in the Democratic Party. “They’re no longer the party of everyday, ordinary working people,” Blagojevich said.