GOP grapples with what went wrong after midterm election loss

Republicans are pointing fingers following a historic blowout this midterm election.

After Democrats successfully flipped the majority for both the House and Senate, GOP voters and lawmakers know something went wrong. They just don’t agree on what it was.

Seth C. McKee, a political science professor at Oklahoma State University, said the results of the election are a “massive rebuke of the Trump administration.”

McKee said “this is retrospective punishment.”

As results came in nationwide, many GOP lawmakers took to social media to express disappointment and emphasize their party loyalty, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Trump used  Truth Social to criticize GOP candidates like now-outgoing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The president also wrote that if he were on the ballot, Republicans would have “won in a landslide.”

His vice president had another view. Vance tweeted on X that he believed the reason for the large Republican loss was the Iran war.

“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” wrote Vance. “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.”

McKee said Vance blaming the loss on the Iran war is not inaccurate, but it’s not the only factor.

He said many Americans do not approve of the war and its increased costs. But the tariffs Trump imposed have also impacted affordability, McKee said.

“There’s no rationale behind the war or the tariffs, and yet, they have directly made Americans poorer,” McKee said.

In addition to the loss, it has been widely reported that Rep. Mike Johnson, R-LA, will not be running for House minority leader following the transition of power.

While national reaction has been split, some Washington, D.C.,-area voters see the step down as admirable. Veteran and Howard county resident Michael Goldfridge, 80, said he sees the act as “gracious” following the huge loss.

“The Republicans, which I am one, just got our a** beat by whoever,” said Goldfridge. “I think if it’s a sign of being gracious, I like it.”

David Chandler, 74, another Howard county veteran, said that he believed Johnson’s step down was a positive first step for the transition.

“There’s no question contesting these results, or not accepting the results,” said Chandler. “I think him making way and helping with the transition being a positive step will be interesting to see where things go.”

As lawmakers prepare for the transition, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-LA, announced that he will be running for House minority leader this next term.

His opponent for the position would be Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, who also announced his run in a letter to House Republicans.

In his own statement to House Republicans, Scalise shared his plans, including pitting House Democrats against each other and disrupting “their agenda.”

“My number one goal as Republican Leader will be to win back the majority and I expect you to hold me accountable to that mission,” wrote Scalise.

Neal Allen, associate professor of the department of political science at Wichita State University, said that this win for Democrats does not indicate a rise in the party’s popularity.

“Republicans should not see this as, you know, a sign that the Democrats are popular,” said Allen. “It’s just that the Republicans are a lot more unpopular.”

Allen wasn’t the only one who cautioned the Democratic party.

When asked what he thinks is next for the Republican party, McKee said: Think about the Democrats.

McKee said Democrats have to be careful how they behave because they are in Republican territory. Many who rode the blue wave in, he said, may come back out in 2028.