<p>JD Vance, Ron DeSantis and Ted Cruz all pointed to Iran war and affordability as key factors in Democratic victory</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/nov/05/midterm-elections-live-latest-updates-mississippi-senate-race">US midterms 2026 live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/republicans">Republican</a> hopefuls in the race to succeed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump</a> swiftly blamed two key pillars of his agenda – the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-israel-war-on-iran">Iran war</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-tariffs">tariffs</a> – for summoning the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/nov/04/midterm-elections-full-results-senate-house-governor-races">Democratic blue wave</a> that swept the US midterm elections.</p><p>JD Vance, the outgoing Florida governor Ron DeSantis and the senator Ted Cruz all pointed to frustration over cost of living amid the fallout from Republican defeats across the country, including in previous strongholds.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/05/republicans-cruz-desantis-vance-midterm-rout">Continue reading...</a>