Vance Blames Iran War for GOP Midterm Losses: 'The Reason We Lost Is the War'
The vice president says the conflict drove former Trump voters toward Democrats and urges Republicans to acknowledge its political cost.
Vice President JD Vance blamed the war with Iran for Republican losses in Tuesday's midterm elections, saying the party must acknowledge the conflict's political cost before deciding how to recover.
"The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night," Vance wrote Wednesday in a lengthy social media post.
Vance argued that turnout was not the main problem. He said many voters who backed the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 voted for Democrats this year.
Citing an unnamed pollster, Vance said voters wanted the war to end, more attention to the cost of living and inflation, an "America First" approach, and a change in the U.S. relationship with Israel. Those were Vance's account of the pollster's findings, not a new independently released poll.
"Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest," Vance wrote about the war. "But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there."
President Donald Trump has acknowledged that Iran was a factor in the losses while continuing to defend his decision to use military force. Vance urged frustrated Republicans to turn their anger into political action rather than ignore what voters were telling them.