Vice President JD Vance placed the blame for the Republicans’ wipeout in the midterm elections squarely on the war with Iran, and said supporters of the war would have to reckon with the fact that they may have surrendered control of Congress for years as a result.

Vance’s comments, in a social media post, were his first since voters across the country delivered a stinging rebuke to the Trump administration’s handling of the war and the economy by giving Democrats control of the House and Senate. In an interview Tuesday night, President Donald Trump told The New York Times that he did not regret starting the war with Iran and said it was important for the country and the world.

Vance said “the reason we lost is the war,” and that any honest conversation must start with it. “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,” Vance wrote. “Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest. But everyone knows why we lost.”

The Democrats’ landslide, flipping seats that had spent decades in Republican hands, reached not only the federal races but those in state and local governments. The party won several governors’ races in Republican strongholds and down-ballot races from coast to coast.

It remained unclear Wednesday how big the Democrats’ House majority would be and whether the party could yet widen its lead in the Senate. Ballots were still being counted in Alaska’s contentious Senate race and in the unlikely battleground of Mississippi, where fewer than 50 votes separated the two candidates.

But a blue wave had already become a red wipeout: Democrats flipped Senate seats in Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and even Texas, according to The Associated Press. Republicans had held the Senate seats in Texas and South Carolina for decades. Kansas hadn’t elected a Democratic senator for nearly a century.

Here’s What Else We’re Covering:

— Democratic romp: The results revealed an unambiguous mandate from voters for a check on Trump, who has pushed the limits of his power, and imperiled whatever was left of his legislative agenda. He and his administration will face investigations that are expected to consume much of the next Congress.

— House leadership: Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he will not run to lead the House GOP conference in the minority, according to a person familiar with the comments, paving the way for new Republican stewardship in the chamber.

— Statehouses: Democrats notched other firsts in governors’ races. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman to be elected governor in U.S. history. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa will be the first Democratic governor since 1990, ousting Gov. Greg Abbott, a three-term Republican. And Dr. Amy Acton became the first woman elected governor of Ohio.

— GOP bright spots: Republicans fended off a significant challenge in a Senate race in Florida, with Sen. Ashley Moody defeating Angie Nixon, a progressive Democrat. Byron Donalds, a staunch Trump supporter, was elected Florida’s first Black governor, keeping the Republicans’ hold on that office.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Reid J. Epstein, Kellen Browning, John Yoon and Tyler Pager
c. 2026 The New York Times Company