In a major setback to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, US voters on Tuesday handed control of Congress to the opposition Democratic Party and flipped key gubernatorial seats in the midterm elections. Held amid the ongoing US military campaign in Iran, the elections were closely watched globally, with speculation mounting over Trump's next move in the war following the polls.
Vice President JD Vance has seemingly sought to distance himself from the election results, which are being seen as a referendum on Trump's presidency. In a lengthy post on X, he acknowledged that the military conflict in Iran had cost the ruling party at the ballot box.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said. “If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next six years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.”
Vance also referred to his earlier conversations with data analysts and pollsters, several of whom had warned of growing resentment among voters towards the Republican Party.
“The data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us,” Vance quoted one analyst as saying.
Describing the assessment as prophetic, Vance pointed to the results in Florida, where the electorate was nine percentage points more Republican than Democratic, a margin only a couple of points lower than in 2024.
“Undoubtedly, there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026,” he said.
Vance also cited another pollster who had argued that the Republican Party's economic messaging had lacked clarity towards the end of the campaign.
“I'm sure that's true. But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone,” he added.
According to Vance, another pollster had told him that many voters who backed Trump in 2024 were angry with the administration and were planning to vote for Democrats.
The pollster had asked these voters what would persuade them to return to the Republican camp. The four most common responses, accounting for nearly all the answers, were: “End the war”, “Focus on cost of living/inflation”, “Put America First” and “Change our relationship to Israel”, Vance said.
The Republican Party suffered major defeats in several of its strongholds, including Texas, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio, where Democrats captured gubernatorial seats.
The party also faced setbacks in Senate races in Texas, Maine, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kansas, Iowa and Ohio. Trump had campaigned in several contests with a simple message, urging voters to treat him as though he were on the ballot.
The Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, ending the Republican Party's hold over the two chambers of Congress.
