Vance, DeSantis and Cruz blame Iran war and prices for GOP midterm losses

Republicans who may run for president in 2028 are openly blaming parts of President Trump's agenda for this week's losses. Vice President JD Vance, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas all pointed to the Iran war and the cost of living, The Guardian reported on Thursday ¹.

Democrats won both chambers of Congress and a majority of governors' races, according to the report ¹. Polls before the vote showed voters growing unhappy with Mr. Trump's handling of his job, and families were squeezed by rising gas and grocery prices, the paper said ¹.

What they said

Cruz spoke on his podcast on Wednesday. He said tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods, and the war had hurt voters ¹. He added that Republican politicians "didn’t understand, and they didn’t care" about the warning signs ¹.

Vance, in a long post on X, put it more bluntly. He wrote that the party lost because voters are angry the administration diverted its focus from Americans ¹.

From Channel GOPTrump on pardoning officials: "I'd be allowed toDonald Trump · 201 plays · captioned, with the source named

DeSantis called the elections "close to an extinction-level event" for his party ¹. He said Democratic ads about the Jeffrey Epstein files and members of Congress trading stocks made Republicans look bad ¹. Epstein was a convicted sex offender ¹.

DeSantis said Republicans had campaigned on releasing the Epstein files and then some in Congress voted against releasing them ¹. On stock trading, he said: "It’s untenable when you have people going in, trading stock" ¹.

Trump partly agrees

Mr. Trump himself conceded on Wednesday that the war had cost votes. He told reporters at the White House the claim was "largely true because it drove gasoline up a little bit" ¹.

That is notable because Republican worry about the war was building before Election Day. A Responsible Statecraft opinion piece on Oct. 13 compared the cycle to 2006, when an unpopular war and an unpopular president cost the party Congress ². The author, W. James Antle III, said Republicans might blame tariffs more than the war, because tariffs are easier to pin on Mr. Trump ².

The same piece noted that Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, said in a September ad that the war with Iran "needs to end, and end quickly" ². Responsible Statecraft also reported that Mr. Trump had suggested the war would end by June, and that it never ended ².

What happens next

No one has said whether any of the three will run in 2028. The Guardian described them as hopefuls in the race to succeed Mr. Trump, and said Cruz has not ruled out another run ¹.

Analysis: The pattern is that each Republican blames something different. Vance and Cruz point at the war and tariffs, which Mr. Trump owns. DeSantis points at Epstein and stock trading, which put the blame on Congress. None of them has proposed how to end the war.

That matters because a Democratic Congress will face a Republican Party that is not united on the war or on tariffs. Cruz said "Food is too high. Gas is too high. Diesel is too high. Insurance is too high. Life is too high" ¹. Democrats campaigned on making life more affordable and keeping the president's agenda in check, and voters backed them ¹.

The Record

1. Oct 13, 2026A Responsible Statecraft analysis compared the midterm cycle to 2006 and said Republicans were distancing themselves from the Iran war ².
2. Nov 3, 2026Democrats won both chambers of Congress and most governors' races in the midterm elections ¹.
3. Nov 4, 2026Cruz blamed tariffs and the war on his podcast, and Trump said the war's effect on gas prices was 'largely true' as a reason for the losses ¹.

Free to reprint Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

<h2>Vance, DeSantis and Cruz blame Iran war and prices for GOP midterm losses</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Campaign Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/vance-desantis-and-cruz-blame-iran-war-and-prices-for-gop-midterm-losses">The GOP Files</a> on Thursday, November 5, 2026.</em></p> <p>Republicans who may run for president in 2028 are openly blaming parts of President Trump&#39;s agenda for this week&#39;s losses. Vice President JD Vance, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas all pointed to the Iran war and the cost of living, The Guardian reported on Thursday .</p> <p>Democrats won both chambers of Congress and a majority of governors&#39; races, according to the report . Polls before the vote showed voters growing unhappy with Mr. Trump&#39;s handling of his job, and families were squeezed by rising gas and grocery prices, the paper said .</p> <h2>What they said</h2> <p>Cruz spoke on his podcast on Wednesday. He said tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods, and the war had hurt voters . He added that Republican politicians &quot;didn’t understand, and they didn’t care&quot; about the warning signs .</p> <p>Vance, in a long post on X, put it more bluntly. He wrote that the party lost because voters are angry the administration diverted its focus from Americans .</p> <p>DeSantis called the elections &quot;close to an extinction-level event&quot; for his party . He said Democratic ads about the Jeffrey Epstein files and members of Congress trading stocks made Republicans look bad . Epstein was a convicted sex offender .</p> <p>DeSantis said Republicans had campaigned on releasing the Epstein files and then some in Congress voted against releasing them . On stock trading, he said: &quot;It’s untenable when you have people going in, trading stock&quot; .</p> <h2>Trump partly agrees</h2> <p>Mr. Trump himself conceded on Wednesday that the war had cost votes. He told reporters at the White House the claim was &quot;largely true because it drove gasoline up a little bit&quot; .</p> <p>That is notable because Republican worry about the war was building before Election Day. A Responsible Statecraft opinion piece on Oct. 13 compared the cycle to 2006, when an unpopular war and an unpopular president cost the party Congress . The author, W. James Antle III, said Republicans might blame tariffs more than the war, because tariffs are easier to pin on Mr. Trump .</p> <p>The same piece noted that Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate in Michigan, said in a September ad that the war with Iran &quot;needs to end, and end quickly&quot; . Responsible Statecraft also reported that Mr. Trump had suggested the war would end by June, and that it never ended .</p> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>No one has said whether any of the three will run in 2028. The Guardian described them as hopefuls in the race to succeed Mr. Trump, and said Cruz has not ruled out another run .</p> <p>Analysis: The pattern is that each Republican blames something different. Vance and Cruz point at the war and tariffs, which Mr. Trump owns. DeSantis points at Epstein and stock trading, which put the blame on Congress. None of them has proposed how to end the war.</p> <p>That matters because a Democratic Congress will face a Republican Party that is not united on the war or on tariffs. Cruz said &quot;Food is too high. Gas is too high. Diesel is too high. Insurance is too high. Life is too high&quot; . Democrats campaigned on making life more affordable and keeping the president&#39;s agenda in check, and voters backed them .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/vance-desantis-and-cruz-blame-iran-war-and-prices-for-gop-midterm-losses">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/vance-desantis-and-cruz-blame-iran-war-and-prices-for-gop-midterm-losses.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

Copy the HTML Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

1. The Guardian, “Republicans hoping to succeed Trump in 2028 dissect midterm rout” (2026-11-05). theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/05/republicans-cruz-desanti
2. Responsible Statecraft, “'Major wipeout' of 2006 proportions could force a new GOP reckoning” (2026-10-13). responsiblestatecraft.org/republicans-lose-midterms-war/

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.