Key facts
- DeSantis said the Iran war had a direct effect on people's pocketbooks and contradicted the party's stance on open-ended conflicts.
- DeSantis said Florida was the only one of the 10 largest states to keep Republican control of its state government.
- Rep. Byron Donalds led Florida's governor race by 1.3 percentage points, against DeSantis's 19.4-point margin in 2022.
- On Polymarket, DeSantis's odds of the 2028 GOP nomination rose to 12.7 percent by Thursday evening from about 4 percent.
- Vance's odds briefly fell below 30 percent on election night and stood at 37.8 percent on Thursday, per Polymarket.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Republican Party's midterm losses on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, stemmed from the war with Iran, which he said had a direct effect on people's pocketbooks. In a CNN interview, he said the conflict contradicted the party's long-standing position against open-ended wars.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, DeSantis described the result as "the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States." He said Florida Republicans held control of the state, though Rep. Byron Donalds, the state's newly elected governor, led by just 1.3 percentage points, against DeSantis's 19.4-point reelection margin in 2022.
On Sage Steele's podcast on Wednesday, DeSantis said Democrat Amy Acton "beat Vivek like a drum" in Ohio's governor's race. He also criticized Republicans who blamed high prices on former President Biden rather than the war, saying, "When you gaslight people, they don't trust you on anything else."
On Polymarket, DeSantis's odds of winning the 2028 Republican nomination rose from about 4 percent before returns came in to 12.7 percent by Thursday evening, The Hill reported. Vice President Vance's odds briefly fell below 30 percent on election night before rebounding to 37.8 percent on Thursday, within a percentage point of where he stood before the election.
The Hill reported that Vance blamed the losses on the Iran war and questioned its cost but stopped short of criticizing the decision to go to war. The report also said Republicans are asking whether a candidate not tied to the administration would be stronger in 2028.