‘The reason we lost is the war’: Vance says Iran conflict drove Trump voters to Democrats

US Vice President JD Vance has blamed growing public opposition to the war with Iran for Republican losses in the midterm elections, saying the conflict drove voters who backed President Donald Trump in 2024 towards the Democrats.

“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote in a statement on X on Wednesday.

He argued that the results reflected dissatisfaction with the administration's foreign policy rather than poor Republican voter turnout, Daily Sabah reported.

Vance said many Americans who voted for Trump and him in the 2024 presidential election switched to the Democratic Party in 2026, despite strong turnout among Republican voters.

“The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026,” he said.

Citing polling data, Vance said voters who abandoned the Republicans identified ending the war, addressing the cost of living and inflation, putting America first and changing Washington's relationship with Israel as their main concerns.

He acknowledged that Republicans would face “a lot of infighting and arguing” over the reasons for their electoral losses. While conceding that the party's economic messaging might have fallen short, he maintained that the war with Iran was the primary factor behind the defeat.

“Any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there,” Vance said.

The Democratic gains in Tuesday's midterm elections have also raised questions about Vance's political prospects ahead of the 2028 presidential race, in which he has previously been regarded as a leading contender for the Republican nomination. He has not formally declared whether he will seek the nomination.

Vance, who has long criticised US foreign interventionism, had reportedly expressed reservations behind the scenes about the war against Iran launched by Trump and Israel in late February.

In the coming weeks, both parties are expected to hold internal leadership elections as newly elected lawmakers arrive at the Capitol for freshman orientation. The House will elect its speaker in one of the first votes when the new Congress convenes.

The results mark another setback for a president's party in midterm elections, when the governing party has historically struggled to retain power.

The Democratic gains echo the 2018 midterm elections during Trump's first presidency, when a voter backlash helped Democrats take control of the House, as well as the Republican gains during Barack Obama's presidency, when the Tea Party movement swept into Congress.

The new Congress is also expected to feature several historic firsts and newly elected trailblazers.