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United States Vice President JD Vance has blamed President Donald Trump’s war against Iran for the Republican Party’s crushing defeat in the 2026 midterm elections, saying many voters who supported the administration in 2024 switched allegiance to the Democrats.
Mr Vance said the party’s poor performance was not primarily caused by low voter turnout but by the defection of supporters who had become dissatisfied with the administration’s handling of the conflict and other policy issues.
The vice president made the remarks on Wednesday in a lengthy post on his X account, a day after Democrats secured control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections.
He said pre-election analysis by the Republican Party’s data team had indicated that its supporters were turning out in significant numbers, despite opinion polls predicting a major Democratic victory.
However, he said a pollster had warned him that many voters who supported the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 were angry with the administration and were considering voting for Democrats.
Mr Vance said the warning had proved accurate, arguing that the Republicans’ major problem was not mobilisation but the loss of support among their traditional voters.
“Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats,” he said.
According to him, the issues driving the defections included dissatisfaction with the Iran war, rising living costs and inflation, concerns about America’s foreign policy priorities and calls for a reassessment of Washington’s relationship with Israel.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Mr Vance stated.
He challenged members of the Republican establishment who believed the military campaign was worth its political consequences to defend that position publicly.
“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,” he added.
His comments appeared to mark a departure from the administration’s earlier defence of the military campaign, which was launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in February.
President Trump had acknowledged that the war contributed to the Republican Party’s electoral setback but maintained that the decision to attack Iran was justified.
“I did the right thing. I would have done it again,” Mr Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Mr Vance also acknowledged that the administration’s economic messaging had not been sufficiently effective, particularly on the cost of living and inflation.
However, available voter survey findings suggest that economic concerns and government corruption were more prominent considerations for many voters than the Iran conflict.
An ABC News voter poll found that 34 per cent of voters considered the war crucial to their congressional vote, compared with 49 per cent who identified the cost of living and 55 per cent who cited government corruption.
The vice president also defended calls for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, saying earlier recommendations to end the war had been sound.
His remarks have drawn attention to possible divisions within the administration over the political and economic consequences of the military campaign, as well as his own political calculations ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Mr Vance, who has previously expressed support for the administration’s military objectives, is widely regarded as a potential Republican presidential contender in 2028.
He nevertheless urged Republicans to learn from the electoral setback and channel their frustrations into rebuilding the party.
“Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country,” he said.
