Republican Hopefuls Blame Iran War, Tariffs for 2026 Midterm Rout as Democrats Seize Congress
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Nov 5
Republican Hopefuls Blame Iran War, Tariffs for 2026 Midterm Rout as Democrats Seize Congress
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Nov 5
Summary
Republican 2028 hopefuls including JD Vance, Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz said Trump’s Iran war and tariff agenda drove the Democratic wave that handed the party control of both chambers.
Higher gas, grocery and insurance costs became the central explanation they offered, with Cruz saying tariffs made everything too expensive and the war had dragged on too long.
Thursday race calls deepened the damage: Democrats added more competitive House wins, while Alaska and Mississippi Senate contests remained undecided and even GOP strongholds such as Texas and Kansas slipped.
Trump accepted the result but argued Republicans would have done better had he been on the ballot, while also demanding votes for Alaska spoiler Dan J Sullivan be shifted to incumbent Dan Sullivan.
The backlash suggests Trump endorsements no longer guarantee wins and opens a blame fight inside the GOP over the war, affordability and campaign issues such as Epstein-file attacks.