After midterm ‘blue wave,’ conservative reactions cite Iran war, abortion, cost of living as loss factors

In the wake of Democrats winning control of both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterms, conservatives’ reactions and assessments of the outcome are pouring in, positing issues such as abortion, the cost of living, and the Iran war as reasons for the Democrat victories. In a Nov. 4 analysis that has garnered more than 33 million views on X, Vice President JD Vance said, “The reason we lost is the war.” 

“The president himself said so last night,” Vance said in the lengthy X post.

Vance said that there were certainly places that turnout could have been better but added that the main problem was not turnout.

“The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026,” Vance said. “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.” 

According to Vance, one pollster he consulted said voters who shifted to vote Democrat after supporting Trump in 2024 largely pointed to four actions that would bring them back to the GOP: End the war, focus on cost of living and inflation, put America first, and change the nation’s relationship with Israel. 

“Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results,” Vance said. 

The reason for the loss is the war, and acknowledging that fact is foundational to moving forward, Vance later stated.

“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,” he said. “But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”

“I remain hopeful about our country,” the vice president said. 

He added that those who are claiming “I told you so” are right. However, he said, “Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.”

President Donald Trump told reporters Nov. 4 after Vance’s statement, “I know how he feels about it, I think it was fine, I thought it was good.” 

“We knew that… I knew that when I went in, and we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon, and they will never have a nuclear weapon,” the President added. 

Catholic political commentator and Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh said Vance’s assessment is perhaps the most thorough and honest post-election loss assessment from a vice president that the U.S. has seen. 

“And he’s right,” Walsh added. 

Meanwhile, Senator Jim Banks, R-Ind., said in a Nov. 4 statement that “voters sent a clear message” in the midterms, pointing to cost of living struggles. 

“Americans are frustrated with how much everything costs,” he said. “Gas was higher yesterday than on any Election Day in history.” 

Florida’s outgoing Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis stressed in multiple press appearances that the GOP seemingly failed to deliver on what he suggested was the mandate delivered to the party in 2024, citing a lack of transparency regarding the release of the Epstein files, a failure to quickly address economic worries, and missteps on strict immigration enforcement under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In one comment, DeSantis said GOP candidates “didn’t have their footing” and that their explanations “weren’t landing with voters.” 

 He said he doesn’t think the Democrats ran on a positive agenda and noted that even in states where Republican candidates weren’t successful, voters were approving conservative ballot measures. Zeale News previously reported that in Colorado, several ballot measures protecting girls’ sports and protecting children from sex-rejecting surgeries are on track to pass, though results remain unofficial. 

Pro-life leaders weighed how the outcome may have been affected by how the GOP has addressed — or not addressed — the issue of abortion. 

Majorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-life, criticized Republicans’ regard for pro-life voters and urged a different strategy before the 2028 presidential election. 

“You cannot spend years telling your base to sit down and shut up, then act surprised when they don’t stand up for you on Election Day,” she said. “Republicans must stop running from the pro-life fight and start giving voters a reason to fight for them.”

Similarly, Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins challenged congressional members to stand for life by co-sponsoring the organization’s “Life at Conception Act.” 

LiveAction President Lila Rose issued a statement focused not on voters’ reactions to the GOP but on the right to life, stressing that it is inherent and not determined by politicians. She celebrated the pro-life victory in Idaho, where voters struck down a pro-abortion measure, and lamented pro-abortion outcomes in Virginia, Nevada, and Missouri. She also warned that the outcome bears heavy challenges for the pro-life movement. 

“With Democrats now set to control both the House and Senate, the threat to innocent human life is serious. Congressional Democratic leaders have made their intentions clear,” Rose said. “They want to establish a nationwide right to abortion, overturn state laws protecting preborn children, and force American taxpayers to fund abortions. Their proposed Women’s Health Protection Act would gut protections for preborn children across the country, while the EACH Act would expand taxpayer funding for the intentional killing of innocent human beings.”

“These are not moderate policies,” Rose stressed. “They would use the power of the federal government to expand the killing of preborn children, funnel taxpayer dollars to abortion businesses, and strip states of their ability to defend innocent human life. These policies must be stopped.”

Looking ahead, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation argued in Nov. 4 comments that conservatives’ takeaway from the blue wave midterms should be that they must be bold in their policy agenda. 

“Ultimately, I think that one of the things that drove a sort of depressed conservative turnout was that the Republican Senate has been feckless,” he said. “The Republican Senate has not been game to implement the President’s agenda. And so those of us who work on conservative politics are looking for more audacious, ambitious, conservative policy reformers in both the Senate and the House.”