Vance blames Iran war for Republican losses in midterm elections

WASHINGTON - US Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the war against Iran was the reason Republicans lost in the midterm elections.

"The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night," he wrote in a post on X.

His remarks came hours after US President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Tuesday night that the war in Iran was partially to blame for widespread Republican losses in the midterm elections. Trump, however, said that he did not regret launching the war earlier this year.

"Iran was a piece of it," he said in a phone interview with the WSJ when asked whether the war contributed to Republicans' poor performance in the election.

He added that rising oil prices, rather than the war itself, were the biggest political liability.

In his latest post, Vance cited a pollster who had accurately predicted the election results, saying many voters who supported Trump in 2024 were angry and planned to vote for Democrats. The pollster asked former Republican voters what would bring them back to the party.

The top four responses were ending the war, focusing on the cost of living and inflation, putting the United States first, and changing Washington's relationship with Israel.

Democrats are projected to take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, election forecasting agency Decision Desk HQ reported late Tuesday. Several media outlets described the outcome as a "blue wave" or even a "blue tsunami."

According to NBC News' latest projections, Democrats are expected to win at least 54 Senate seats, a net gain of seven from their pre-election total. They flipped several key battleground states, including Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and Maine.

NBC News also projected that Democrats would win at least 238 House seats, a gain of 32, with the total expected to rise as vote counting continues.