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JD Vance says it’s ‘obvious to almost everyone’ that war on Iran is ‘the reason we lost’ midterms
Vice-president JD Vance has said that the war against Iran doomed the Republican party in the midterm elections, which are widely seen as a referendum on Trump’s presidency.
It’s an interesting intervention as Vance, once the face of the Trump administration’s deal-making efforts with Tehran, seeks to distance himself from the unpopular conflict ahead of a possible 2028 White House run.
“The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone … The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said in a lengthy post on X. “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.”
“Everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there,” added Vance, who had reportedly been sceptical about the unresolved war, which Trump launched in February alongside Israel.
Key events
Speaking in Italian, Pope Leo XIV told hundreds of the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square today that “the political community exists for the sake of the common good”.
“The exercise of political authority must always be directed towards the common good, which must be structured and operate according to local and historical circumstances, but always with the good of the entire human family at heart,” said Leo, the first pontiff known to have cast a ballot in any political election at any time in history.
Leo, who has clashed with Donald Trump over several issues, became the first American leader of the Catholic church last year after the death of Pope Francis.
Leo and Trump have clashed over the US president’s harsh immigration polices, with the pontiff describing them as “inhuman”. And earlier this year, Trump lashed out in response to Leo’s criticisms of the US-Israeli war on Iran, calling the pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy”.
In his first key address to the US on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Leo praised the country’s history of welcoming migrants, while urging Americans to live up to the ideals put forward in the declaration, in what was seen a further rebuke to Trump.
In an interview with the US broadcaster in late July, Leo expressed “great love” for his home country and its core principles of freedom, opportunity and welcoming immigrants but qualified that he just “happens to be American”.
‘We want our taxes spent here’: 12 Democrats weigh in after sweeping the US midterm elections
Edward Helmore
The broad repudiation of Donald Trump, his policies and the Republican party, focused on Trump’s personal unpopularity, high costs of living and the Iran war, offer Democrats an opportunity to reset the US domestic agenda. But what will they do with it?
Here, Democratic leaders and seat-flipping victors from Tuesday’s “blue tsunami” offer their post-election comments.
Read the full comments from Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, Barack Obama and others here:
‘The people of America have spoken’: world leaders react to US midterm elections
World leaders have been reacting to the seismic results of the US midterm elections, with British prime minister Andy Burnham earlier saying he hopes the results will give the world an “opportunity” to focus on ending the Iran war and easing cost of living pressures. (More from his interview with the BBC here, via my colleague Andrew Sparrow.)
In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan, who Trump has frequently insulted over the years, said on X: “Congratulations to Democrats on a huge victory last night. With a focus on hope, unity and supporting families with the cost of living – their campaign was a true rejection of the damaging and divisive politics of Donald Trump.”
In Iran, powerful parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf attributed Republican losses to Trump’s unresolved war against Tehran, which broke his campaign promise to not start new wars, sparked a global energy crisis and exacerbated the cost of living.
He wrote on X:
Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message. If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare.
In Israel, incumbent prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lost his majority last week, has not publicly commented on the midterms. Neither have his rightwing allies.
But Israeli opposition leaders have, with Yair Golan saying the results reveal “just how toxic Netanyahu is among both Democrats and Republicans” and warned that his coalition risks driving Israel further into “global isolation” and confrontation with Washington, its most important ally. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the results “effectively rule out any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu”.
In South Africa, where diplomatic relations with Washington are at an all-time low after Trump has repeatedly – and falsely – accused the government of persecuting its white minority (and offered refugee status), President Cyril Ramaphosa said:
The people of America have spoken.
Ramaphosa added: “I do think that this is going to introduce a new era in world relations. We’re hoping that on a bilateral basis there will be a coming together of minds.”
My colleague Jakub Krupa has noted some reactions from the European continent, including Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez – who has been Donald Trump’s most vociferous European critic – celebrating the results and hailing them as proof of a progressive fightback and of the “crumbling” of what he called the “ultra wave”.
“Yesterday, American society voted against the policies that only impoverish,” Sánchez posted on X. “Against hate. Against sexism. Against climate denialism and against the privileges of the elites.”
Sánchez, who faces an uphill battle to secure another term in office in Spain’s general election at the end of the month, added: “It happened in Brazil. It just happened in the US. And it will happen soon in Spain.”
Meanwhile, Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, declared:
Today, democracy won in America.
“Democracy is amazing; I love democracy, it’s a beautiful thing,” he continued, absolutely beaming. He then added:
I hope that the result will stabilise the situation also in our region, but then Trump is still the president … My advice would be not to overuse the veto … as a sort of method of governing.
This was an apparent domestic swipe at Poland’s opposition president and Trump ally, Karol Nawrocki, with whom Tusk is locked in a bitter dispute over the country’s constitutional court.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, who also clashed with Trump in recent months, wasn’t in the mood to offer any reaction to the US elections this morning, as she told reporters: “We’ll talk about America some other time. Right now, it’s Armed Forces Day, 4 November.”
Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre told Reuters:
This is a powerful political signal about a change of course among American voters.
Voices are now emerging in American politics that are closer to us than the president and the administration have stood for, for example on climate and environment, and in foreign policy and development aid policy.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius congratulated the US Democeats “from the bottom of his heart” on their “historic victory” last night, Dlf reported. Foreign minister Johann Wadephul said the results will mean some “continuity” in Germany’s relations with the Trump administration, but also a “change” in ties with the US Democrats as he hoped to see some breakthrough on Ukraine.
French finance minister Roland Lescure also responded to the result, discussing what Trump’s next steps could be. Here are his comments, via Reuters:
Either he decides to rise above the fray – acknowledging that changes are necessary, particularly regarding gasoline prices, which directly affect people – and, I might add, he tones down his international involvement; or he does not.
Frankly, this is something we will need to keep an eye on in the coming days.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that “US voters have made their choice clear”.
She said she hoped the US Congress would continue to support Ukraine and put more pressure on Russia.
“I hope that the new Congress … will continue supporting Ukraine and also putting more pressure on Russia,” Kallas said, adding that Europe and the United States “are much stronger together” in pushing Moscow to end its war.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said that it hopes that the results of the US midterm elections will not impact what it said were Trump’s “peacemaking efforts” on Ukraine, Reuters reported.
In comments broadcast by Russian state media, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said:
We are sincerely counting on [Trump] continuing his peacemaking efforts.
Midterms: how the blue wave took Congress in three minutes – video
Donald Trump and his Republican party have been dealt a devastating blow in the midterm elections with Democrats taking control of the House and Senate. Republicans are shell-shocked, with the future of the party deeply uncertain and some sounding the death knell for a decade of Trump-dominated GOP politics.
Watch how the blue wave took Congress in three minutes here:
Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise among Republicans looking to replace Johnson as top House Republican, reports say
According to media reports, another Republican in addition to Jim Jordan has already set heir eyes set on the minority leader position Mike Johnson has reportedly opted not to pursue.
Multiple outlets, including Punchbowl News and Fox News, reported that Louisiana representative Steve Scalise, Republicans’ majority leader, was a candidate for the minority leader job. Like Jordan, Scalise vied for the speaker of the House position after it was vacated by Kevin McCarthy in 2023.
Mike Johnson not to seek minority leadership role, reports say
Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House, has said he is not planning to pursue the role of minority leader once his party loses its majority in the chamber, according to the Associated Press.
Coming in light of Republicans’ disastrous midterm defeat, Johnson’s decision effectively yields the position of highest-ranking Republican in the House to whichever member of his party can claim it.
‘PSA: Trump is still your president,’ White House posts on Instagram
In the first post to its official Instagram account since a disastrous midterm election for Republicans, the White House posted a menacing image of President Trump, accompanied by a message that seemed dismissive of the results.
“PSA: TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT,” the post read, the text underlining an image of Trump glowering across the Resolute Desk.
The message come as Trump has tried to deflect blame for the results of the 2026 midterm election, attributing stunning Republican losses to his absence from the ballot, and as he has vowed to stonewall all Democrat legislative efforts by becoming “Mr. Veto.”
Wall Street opens higher after Democrats secure Congress
Julia Kollewe
Wall Street surged at the open, after Democrats scored historic victories in midterm elections and secured control of US Congress.
The Dow Jones rose 2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500 both gained more than 1%. That’s quite a reversal: Overnight, stock futures fell sharply as investors worried about the prospect of tougher regulation of the AI sector and the impact on economic growth.
Mike Johnson won’t seek minority leadership, as Jim Jordan eyes the role: media reports
The dust hadn’t yet settled on a cataclysmic midterm election for House Republicans before early indication arrived of a possible shakeup to the party’s leadership in the chamber, the Associated Press reported.
According to Fox News, at least one Republican already had their eyes set on the minority leader position Johnson has reportedly opted not to pursue.
The outlet, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported that Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, is planning an effort to oust outgoing Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to take the position of minority leader.
It’s wouldn’t be the first time that Jordan has gunned for the House Republicans’ top job. Jordan previously sought to claim the title after Kevin McCarthy, the previous Republican speaker of the House, lost the job in 2023, but failed to net enough votes from members of the chamber.
A blue tsunami wipes out Republicans – podcast
In this edition of our Politics Weekly America podcast, Jonathan Freedland and Shrai Popat run through the results of the US midterms, on a historic night for Democrats and a night to forget for Republicans.
‘A win the size of Texas’: Democrats celebrate shrinking Republican dominance in a big state
David Smith
Reporting from Austin, Texas.
“This is amazing,” exclaimed Tiffany Dunsmore, 44, the owner of Austin Scavenger Hunt, as the city skyline gleamed in the distance on a balmy night. “I cannot believe Texas went blue!”
For 32 long years, turning Texas blue had been an elusive prize for Democrats in the US’s second biggest state. There were false dawns and broken dreams. But on Tuesday the party’s agony finally came to an end.
James Talarico was elected the youngest member of the US Senate, and Gina Hinojosa the state’s first Latina governor. The pair delivered the party’s first statewide win since 1994 and the jewel in the crown of Donald Trump’s midterm humiliation.
The plaza of the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin buzzed like a political festival, packed with taco trucks, craft stalls selling handmade ceramics and vendors stitching bandanas on demand. Expectations had mounted as a giant TV screens showed Democrats storming Republican strongholds across the nation.
Then came a great roar of jubilation when, at 10pm local time, it was confirmed that Democrats had claimed the ultimate prize: the Lone Star State. Supporters wearing Talarico T-shirts punched the air and hugged one another. Nearby cars honked their horns. The weight of three decades had finally been lifted.
The last Democratic senator elected in Texas was Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, the year before Talarico was born, while the state’s last Democratic governor was Ann Richards, elected in 1990. Talarico’s breakthrough, defeating the scandal-plagued, Trump-endorsed Republican, Ken Paxton, helped power Democrats to retake control of the US Senate. Hinojosa, meanwhile, beat the incumbent governor, Greg Abbott, a titan of Texas politics who was running for a record-fourth term.
Read the full election night coverage from The Guardian’s David Smith:
In GOP midterm defeat, British prime minister sees ‘opportunity’ to work together to address Iran war, cost of living
British prime minister Andy Burnham believes the midterm results show that US voters want to “see the world coming together and focusing on the things that matter,” such as ending the war in Iran and bringing down the cost of living.
“President Trump has accepted the results, and I feel the world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that’s the cost of living,” he said.
“That has been the issue that I have put front and center in my first three months in Downing Street, and we’ve made moves. But I can’t get people’s cost of living pressures down until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved. The conflict in Ukraine started by Russia.
“These are the things we have to focus on now, and I hope the world has a moment to do that. And certainly, in my calls with leaders, that is what I will be asking everybody to do.”
Asked whether he was worried there might be an escalation in the Middle East following the results, he said: “Well, I’ll be working for de-escalation to make it very clear. You know, we want to see a resolution, the strait of Hormuz fully opened again.
“That’s what we will be working towards.”
Mark Teixeira, Former Yankees all-star and World Series champion, wins House race in Texas
Former World Series champion turned Republican politician Mark Teixeira will represent Texas’s 21st Congressional District in Washington after defeating Democrat Kristin Hook in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
On Wednesday morning, Teixeira was leading with 54.5% of the votes after 99% of the ballots had been counted.
“Tonight’s victory belongs to the people of Texas’s 21st District. I’m not going to Washington for myself, but rather to be a strong, responsive voice for every family in this district,” wrote on X. “Together, we can build a better future for our families, our neighbors, and every community across Texas 21. I’m excited to get to work. I will be praying for all of you and for the future of this great nation. God bless Texas, and God bless America.”
Teixeira’s victory was expected. The seat has been in Republican hands since 1979. It was previously held by Chip Roy, who didn’t run for reelection. The district includes deeply conservative parts of Texas in the Austin and San Antonio areas.
Donald Trump and Texas’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, endorsed Teixeira’s campaign. Abbott lost his reelection campaign against Democrat Gina Hinojosa, and the Republicans suffered sweeping losses across the US in a repudiation of Trump’s second term in power.
According to Teixeira’s campaign website he aims to “end radical woke indoctrination, defend parental rights, kill DEI, restore patriotic education rooted in American and Texas values … and fight against Cultural Marxism.”
Teixeira, 46, was born and raised in Maryland, and he attended Georgia Tech. A first-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2001, he played for Texas from 2003-07 before stints with the Atlanta Braves (2007-08), Los Angeles Angels (2008) and New York Yankees (2009-16). Teixeira was selected an All-Star in 2005, 2009 and 2015, and he helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series.
Cindy Hyde Smith, Mississippi’s Republican Senator who is at risk of losing her seat in a seismic upset, may be paying the price for a particularly damaging remark she made to a local news outlet.
Questioned on a regional television network about how Mississippians should cope with the rising price of beef under the Trump administration, Hyde Smith responded by musing: “you know, you have so many proteins to choose from.”
Hyde Smith’s challenger, Democrat Scott Colom, seized on the comment in a campaign ad, which landed just as affordability was taking center stage as an issue in the 2026 midterms. Instead of picking another protein, the ad insisted, Mississippi voters should “pick another Senator.”
It remains to be seen whether Mississippi voters will take Colom up on the offer. But they’ve already come far closer to doing so than anybody expected going into Tuesday’s election.
Trump ally Lauren Boebert at risk of losing Congress seat in Colorado’s 4th District to Democrat challenger
Lauren Boebert, the hard-right Colorado congresswoman who has been one of Donald Trump’s most outspoken allies in the House of Representatives, is at risk of losing her seat in a close race with her Democratic challenger.
With more than 80 percent of the vote in, Boebert trails by one-and-a-half percent in the race for Colorado’s 4th District to Eileen Laubacher, a onetime Navy rear admiral and former Republican who switched parties.
Amid a slate of devastating losses for President Trump’s, Boebert’s ouster would nonetheless represent the rebuke of a congresswoman who was emblematic of the kind of lawmaker Trump sought to cultivate: hard-right, provocative, and fiercely loyal to the Trump brand.
The results of a closely-fought California ballot proposal to impose a one-time tax on billionaires remain too close to call as of Wednesday morning, the Associated Press reported.
If it passes, the measure would hit the state’s ultra-wealthy with a one-time 5% tax. It prompted something of an internecine war among California Democrats, winning support from top progressives, but getting blowback from some party leaders including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who fear its passage would force an exodus of the state’s ultra-wealthy.
Those same ultra-wealthy have also spent lavishly to campaign against the proposal.
Democrats secure majority in the House as voters punish Republican Party
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
In case you fell asleep early, yesterday evening resonated as an extinction level-event for Donald Trump’s Republican Party, a worst-case scenario for the GOP that even the starkest polls might’ve underestimated.
Democrats defended a crucial Senate seat in Michigan and won the likely pickups in Maine and North Carolina. They then proceeded to flip five more seats in states that would normally be considered unquestionably red: Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, South Carolina, and — the biggest prize of them all — Texas.
As of Wednesday morning, Democrats have secured 54 seats in the Senate. A closely-watched race in Alaska is yet to be called. And the Senate contest in ruby red Mississippi is down to the wire, with Democrat Scott Colom leading by just a few dozen votes as the final ballots roll in.
The Democrats have already secured 228 seats in the House, ten more than needed for a majority, and could realistically run up the score to 240 seats or more. They’ve also flipped governor’s offices in Texas, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and Nevada.
Republicans, needless to say, are shell-shocked, with the future of the party deeply uncertain, and some sounding the death-knell for a decade of Trump-dominated GOP politics.
Here are some other developments you may have missed last night:
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Trump, uncharacteristically gracious, accepted his party’s resounding defeat, congratulated Democrats, and told The New York Times that he was “absolutely willing to accept” the election results. That was very much in doubt after the Trump administration spent months seeking to exert greater influence over the elections process through executive orders and the courts.
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Deb Haaland, running in New Mexico, became the first Native American woman elected as governor. Keisha Lanca Bottoms became the first Black woman ever elected governor. Abdul El-Sayed, the victorious Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, became the first Muslim voted into the upper chamber.
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Several key congressional races, including contests in Colorado, Michigan, Maine, New York, California, and North Carolina, remain to be called.
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