Vance says voter defections drove Republican losses
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said voters switching sides, rather than poor turnout, drove Republican losses in the midterm elections. He identified four central issues: “We lost because of four things: the war in Iran, the high cost of living, our failure to put America first, and our relationship with Israel.”
In a lengthy post on X, Vance said turnout data had initially encouraged his team despite polls forecasting a major Democratic victory. Republican participation ranged from adequate to strong, he wrote, but a data analyst warned that many Trump/Vance 2024 voters intended to support Democrats.
In Florida, Vance said, the electorate was nine percentage points more Republican than Democratic, only a couple of points below 2024. While acknowledging room for turnout improvements, he argued that defections were the central problem.
Vance attributed the four leading demands among former Trump voters who backed Democrats to an unnamed pollster who, he said, had predicted a 13-point Republican deficit on the generic congressional ballot. According to Vance, ending the Iran war, addressing living costs and inflation, putting America first, and changing the U.S. relationship with Israel accounted for nearly all answers when those voters were asked what would bring them back.
He also acknowledged another pollster’s criticism that Republican economic messaging had lacked clarity. “The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote, adding that President Donald Trump had reached the same conclusion the previous night.
Vance defended Rachel Campos-Duffy’s call for a diplomatic resolution, saying the polling supported her advice despite criticism directed at her. He rejected immigration amnesty as the answer to the party’s losses but expressed openness to changing enforcement priorities, including a greater focus on businesses employing people without legal immigration status.
He argued that those defending the war should openly address its electoral cost, which he characterized as losing the Senate “for the next 6 years.” He acknowledged critics who had warned of this outcome and urged frustrated supporters to channel their anger into electing Republicans who share their views.
President Trump responded to Vance:
“The election loss was due to the war against Iran — but we cannot allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons, and we have no other choice.”
Rezaei claims military and political defeats for Trump
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said:
“The great nation of Iran inflicted a major strategic defeat on Trump on the battlefield and in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as a heavy political defeat in Washington.
American citizens and the U.S. government have personally been saddled with the exorbitant and heavy costs of Trump’s warmongering.
Anyone who takes on the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a heavy price for it, from the battlefield to their own doorstep”.
Israeli official addresses reported Iranian chemical-weapons threat
An unnamed senior Israeli security official told Ynet that Iran currently lacks any chemical-weapons capability threatening Israel. The comments followed a New York Times report that Israel had warned Washington of intelligence indicating Tehran was considering chemical-weapons use against its adversaries.
