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U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the war with Iran caused Republicans to lose the 2026 midterm elections. In his view, some voters who backed President Donald Trump in 2024 supported Democrats because of foreign policy and economic issues.
According to AnewZ, Vance wrote in a lengthy statement posted on the platform X on Wednesday, November 4, that Republican voter turnout remained relatively high, but many former supporters had switched parties. He listed the war with Iran, inflation and Washington’s relations with Israel among the main reasons for the defeat.
According to an exclusive report by Fox News Digital, citing administration sources, Vance is seeking to rebuild ties with voters dissatisfied with Trump and create a broader political alliance ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Vance links election defeat to war
Vance rejected the claim that Republicans lost the midterm elections because their supporters did not turn out to vote. He said internal campaign data initially showed voter turnout was satisfactory, raising hopes within the party of a better-than-expected result.
An analyst who spoke with Vance said some people who voted for the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 planned to support Democrats despite turning out to vote. “Our voters are showing up, but they may not vote for us,” Vance recalled the analyst saying.
Vance said pollsters identified ending the war, tackling inflation and the cost of living, the “America First” approach, and changing Washington’s relationship with Israel as the main priorities of former Republican supporters. He said nearly all responses from voters who had left the party focused on those four issues, although preliminary polling data had not been made public.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote. He said the consequences of the conflict had to be acknowledged before debating whether the military operations were justified. Vance added that the party’s campaign had also failed to communicate its economic message clearly enough.
Vance said Rachel Campos-Duffy, who had faced criticism for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, had offered sound political advice. He listed ending the war, focusing on the cost of living, pursuing an “America First” policy and changing relations with Israel as voters’ main demands.
Foreign policy divides Republicans
Vance’s statement has brought divisions within the Republican coalition back into focus, particularly over U.S. involvement in conflicts abroad. The political approach under discussion is aimed at voters who supported Trump’s earlier “America First” agenda but became dissatisfied with the administration’s foreign policy. It includes avoiding foreign military interventions, reducing living costs and maintaining strict immigration controls.
Relations with Israel have become a separate point of contention among some conservatives. They believe the administration has moved away from its earlier position of limiting U.S. foreign commitments. Vance’s strategy, however, is not being presented as a formal break with Trump: the aim is to retain support from voters who sympathize with his political movement but question some of his decisions.
Although Vance largely supports the administration’s agenda, the war with Iran has exposed differences in emphasis between President Trump and the vice president. Trump previously said Vance was not particularly enthusiastic about military operations against Iran. Vance’s latest statement focused on the political consequences of that decision, especially among voters who supported promises not to prolong foreign conflicts. He has not said he is breaking with the administration’s foreign policy or called for a formal political split from Trump.
Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. As of Wednesday afternoon, Democrats had won 54 Senate seats and Republicans 44, while vote counting continued in Alaska. In the House of Representatives, Democrats won 237 seats, surpassing the 218 needed for a majority. Republicans will therefore have to rebuild support without control of Congress.
Vance rejected amnesty as a solution but suggested that enforcement priorities under immigration rules could change, including a greater focus on businesses employing unauthorized workers. He also said attention was growing around potential 2028 presidential candidates such as Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Republicans chart their next political course. Vance has not announced a presidential bid or the creation of a new political movement.
