Republicans are clashing over who is responsible for the party's sweeping losses in Tuesday's (November 3) midterm elections, with some calling for new leadership while others want President Donald Trump to double down on his agenda.
Vice President JD Vance offered one explanation Wednesday (November 4), blaming the U.S. war with Iran for driving voters who supported the Trump-Vance tickets in 2024 away from Republicans.
In a post on X, Vance also pointed to frustration over the cost of living and the administration's relationship with Israel.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote, adding that an honest discussion about the party's future must start there.
The Young Republicans of Texas called for the GOP to return to its “America First” message, advocating for nationalist immigration, foreign and economic policies.
Their statement came after Democrats James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race and Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, ending the party's decades-long hold on the governor's office.
The war has also fueled disagreements among conservative commentators. Comedian Dave Smith argued that critics of the Iran war, including Tucker Carlson, Rep. Thomas Massie, Joe Kent and Megyn Kelly, were right to oppose it.
“The people who demonized them for their principled opposition deserve to be ruled by Democrats. But the rest of us don’t,” Smith wrote.
Right-wing activist Laura Loomer pushed back, accusing Smith and others of supporting Democratic victories and downplaying what she described as the threat of communism and Islam in America.
She called for those who opposed the war to be “ostracized and protested publicly every time they leave their home,” labeling them “traitors to America.”
Former Trump White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also defended the administration's economic messaging during an appearance on Fox News.
In an exchange with a reporter on the program, Leavitt blamed Democrats' victories on voters listening to what she called the “lying media.” When the reporter countered that Americans know how much money they have, Leavitt responded, “No they don't.”
Right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh called the results a “political catastrophe of historic proportions” as Democrat Scott Colom holds a narrow lead over incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's U.S. Senate race.
If Colom's lead holds, he would become the first Black U.S. senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction, when Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce represented the state.
“The Republican Party needs all new leadership,” Walsh wrote. “None should be spared from blame, starting at the top.”
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