Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the Democrat’s sweeping win in the midterms is “close to an extinction-level event for Republicans in many parts of the country.”
The comment was made in DeSantis’ outgoing speech following the election Tuesday night, which saw Democrats take control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in a blue tsunami that delivered a major rebuke to U.S. Donald Trump’s administration.
DeSantis will be replaced by fellow Republican Byron Donalds, who won the gubernatorial race against Democrat candidate David Jolly.
But the outgoing Republican governor said the blue sweep of many Republican strongholds is concerning for Republican leaders across the country.
“In my lifetime, Texas has been the crown jewel of Republican politics,” DeSantis said. “Not only did they lose a highly publicized U.S. Senate race, they lost everything.”
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After 32 years under the leadership of the Republicans, Texas elected Democrat James Talarico as the state’s senator, and Democrat Gina Hinojosa as the state’s first Latina governor.
Looking forward, DeSantis said the Republicans will have a hard time in the 2028 presidential election without holding Texas as an “anchor.”
“That is going to hurt,” he said. “Not just for the next two years, that is something that can reverberate for the next decade or more.”
DeSantis said it will be unlikely the Republicans can recapture a hold of the Senate in the next election.
“We knew it could be worse, but I don’t think many of us thought it could be quite this bad,” he said.
In a post on social media, Vice President JD Vance said the “real reason” the Republicans faced defeat was “obvious:” and that voters identified four key issues: the war with Iran, the cost of living, wanting to “put America first,” and changing the relationship with Israel.
“In the next few months, there’s going to be a lot of gaslighting,” Vance said. “Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I’m open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.”
Trump said himself Tuesday night in a conversation with Fox News and the Wall Street Journal that the war with Iran played a part in how Americans voted but said he had no regrets on his decision to instigate the conflict that has sent food and fuel prices soaring.
“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,” Vance said. “But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”
Vance said he remains “hopeful” for the future of America.
“To the people who are pissed off and want to say, ‘I told you so’: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview,” he said. “To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.”
Vance has been a staunch supporter of Trump, and is among the Republicans seen as a potential leading contender to run in the presidential election in 2028.
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