Vance, DeSantis and Cruz point to war and cost of living after midterm losses
Republican figures have begun offering explanations for their party's losses in the US midterm elections. Vice President JD Vance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Senator Ted Cruz each pointed to voter frustration over the cost of living, and to the war with Iran, as factors in the defeats. The Guardian reported their remarks on Thursday, November 5.
The midterms are congressional elections held partway through a president's term. They decide which party controls the House of Representatives and the Senate, the two chambers of Congress. Republicans have lost ground in both.
CNN projected on Thursday that Democrats will win at least 250 House seats. The Associated Press called more competitive House races for Democrats that day, and Democrats flipped four more House seats, meaning they won seats previously held by Republicans. Democrats also flipped five governors' races, according to KMBC, which reported the results on November 4.
Some Senate contests are still unresolved. The AP said the races in Alaska and Mississippi remained undecided on Thursday. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led the sitting Republican senator, according to the New York Times.
Vance blamed the losses on the war with Iran. On Wednesday morning, November 4, he wrote in an X post that the main reason Republicans lost is the war. He said voters are angry at the Trump administration for diverting attention away from Americans, as CNN reported.
Cruz made similar points on his podcast, Verdict With Ted Cruz. He said tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods, have made everything too expensive. He also said the Iran war has dragged on too long, and that it should have been brief and decisive and needs to end. Separately, Cruz posted a lengthy analysis on social media about Texas's shift toward Democrats in the midterms.
DeSantis described the elections as close to an extinction-level event for the Republican Party. He said Democrats made Republicans look bad with advertisements targeting them over the Jeffrey Epstein case and over congressional stock trading, meaning members of Congress buying and selling shares in companies.
The three Republicans are among those considered possible contenders for the presidency in 2028, when Trump cannot seek another term. Their comments came as the party began assessing where its losses occurred, with Republican defeats reported in Texas and Kansas among others.
