By Salma El-Sakka
Republican figures positioning themselves for the 2028 presidential race swiftly attributed their party's midterm election defeats to the Iran war and tariff policies, arguing both drove up living costs and alienated voters. Vice President JD Vance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Senator Ted Cruz each pointed to frustration over affordability and the prolonged conflict as key factors in Democratic gains across the country, including in former Republican strongholds.
Cost of living and war fatigue cited
"Tariffs have made everything too expensive and the Iran war has dragged on too long," Cruz said on his podcast, Verdict With Ted Cruz. "It should have been brief, decisive and over. It needs to end." Vance wrote in a lengthy X post that the party lost because voters are angry at the Trump administration for diverting focus away from Americans. "To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be," the vice president added. "Let's take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country."
DeSantis calls results near 'extinction-level event'
DeSantis, who challenged Trump for the 2024 nomination, declared this week's elections "close to an extinction-level event" for Republicans. He said Democratic ads targeting Republicans over the Jeffrey Epstein case and congressional stock trading damaged their candidates. "We ran as Republicans on saying, 'We need to do that,'" DeSantis said of releasing Epstein files. "And then you actually have people in the Congress voting against release when the attorney general said she had all this horrific stuff on her desk."
Democrats seize congressional majorities
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress and a majority of gubernatorial races nationwide. Polling before the elections showed voters increasingly disgruntled with Trump's job performance, with gas prices and grocery costs rising due to the Iran war. Democrats campaigned on affordability and checking the president's agenda.
Trump acknowledges war impact
Trump admitted on Wednesday that the Iran war had pushed potential Republican voters away. "It's largely true because it drove gasoline up a little bit," he told reporters at the White House. Cruz blamed Republican politicians for ignoring warning signs: "Too many Republican politicians seem like they didn't understand, and they didn't care. Food is too high. Gas is too high. Diesel is too high. Insurance is too high. Life is too high."
