Vance Blames Iran War for Republican Midterm Losses

Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for Republican losses in the November 3, 2026, midterm elections, writing on X the following day that “The reason we lost is the war.” President Donald Trump agreed the conflict contributed to the results but defended his decision, saying he would take the same action again.

Vance said voters who backed the Republican ticket in 2024 turned out for the midterms but switched to Democrats. He cited a pollster’s account that former Trump-Vance voters were angry and wanted the war ended, attention to the cost of living, an America First approach and a change in the country’s relationship with Israel. The underlying survey methods and results were not provided in the reports, so Vance’s explanation does not establish how much the war drove the losses.

Trump said the conflict was “largely” a factor because it raised gasoline prices in the short term. He also said he would have made the same decision again. The two men therefore acknowledged an electoral effect while differing over whether the war was justified and how central it was to the Republican defeat.

The AP Voter Poll, which surveyed more than 100,000 people, found that about one-third...