JD Vance distances himself from Trump and blames Iran war for major midterm losses

US VICE PRESIDENT JD Vance has laid the blame for major Republican losses in the country’s midterm elections on the Iran war.

In a blue tidal wave, voters turned away from Republican candidates and instead voted to elect Democrats to Congress and governorships across the US. It resulted in Democrats gaining control of both the House and the Senate.

Democrats also managed to flip seven seats in the Senate.

Republican losses have been widely blamed on rising prices of groceries and fuel and unhappiness with President Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy. 

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In a lengthy tweet posted on Wednesday, Vance accepted his party’s losses were down to anger from Republican voters, which made them decide to vote the other way. 

Data analysts working with the Trump administration had warned that the main challenge would not be turnout, but voters switching sides, he wrote.

Quoting one such analyst, Vance wrote: “‘The data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us’.”

The vice president said this “looks prophetic now”.

“There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.

“But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.”

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Polling of former Trump/Vance voters planning to vote the other way showed that they would return to support the party if the war with Iran was ended, there was a focus on cost of living and inflation, “put America first”, and changing America’s relationship with Israel, Vance said.

“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.

“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.”

Vance said he is hopeful for the future of the country and implored people who are “pissed off” to channel their energy into electing Republicans who “share your worldview”.

Later on Wednesday, as Trump gave the media a tour of his under-construction ballroom, the US president acknowledged that the Iran war was the key factor in his party’s sweeping midterm election losses.

Asked if he agreed with Vance’s remark that the Iran war was “the reason we lost,” Trump said: “I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term.”