Republican defeat in the US midterm elections: rising prices and the war with Iran

A heavy defeat for the ruling party

In the US midterm elections, the Republicans — the party of sitting president Donald Trump — lost a significant number of seats. A president's party losing seats between elections is a common feature of American politics, but this time the defeat proved especially severe and, in the view of most observers, showed how dissatisfied voters were with the policies of the first two years of Trump's return to power. This is reported by Kun.uz, citing a BBC analysis, which identified five reasons why American voters stripped the Republican Party of so many seats.

Rising prices as voters' main grievance

The first reason cited is the rising cost of essential goods across the country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 'Gas is getting more expensive, food is getting more expensive, everything is getting more expensive!' a voter from North Carolina told the BBC — someone who had previously voted Republican but this time cast his ballot for the Democrats. According to official statistics, prices in the US rose by an average of 3.7% between September 2025 and September 2026. Fuel became more expensive: in September, the average retail price of diesel fuel reached a record $6.52 per gallon ($1.72 per liter); in October it declined, but only slightly. According to exit polls, eight out of ten voters (79%) said that over the past year they had faced moderate or even serious hardship due to inflation, and more than 60% of respondents blame Trump and his policies specifically for the rise in prices.

The war with Iran and its consequences

The second reason Kun.uz names is the war that the US and Israel launched against Iran at the end of February. After it began, Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz — one of the key routes for transporting oil and liquefied gas — which led to a sharp rise in energy prices and heavy spending by Americans at gas stations. The war itself proved unpopular: 63% of those surveyed on election day called the decision to launch military action a mistake, and 74% — three out of four respondents — said the war was the decisive factor in choosing whom to vote for. It is worth noting that only two of the five reasons cited by the BBC are given in the available materials; the remaining three are not covered in Kun.uz's summary.