Voters sent Republicans – and perhaps President Donald Trump most of all – a distinct message during Tuesday’s blowout midterm losses.
Trump’s war against Iran emerged as a significant issue for voters in Tuesday’s midterms, according to national exit polling. The SSRS Voter Poll found 74% of voters described the Iran war as either a crucial or major factor in their congressional vote.
Among voters who considered the conflict crucial or major, 62% supported Democratic candidates while 35% backed Republicans. The partisan divide became even wider among the 34% of voters who characterized the war as a crucial factor. Seventy percent of those voters supported Democrats, compared with 27% who voted Republican, according to the exit-poll findings.
Another 40% described the war as a major factor, with that group supporting Democrats by a 55%-42% margin. Republicans performed substantially better among voters who placed less importance on the conflict. Among the 19% calling Iran a minor factor, Republicans received 68% support compared with 29% for Democrats. The 7% who said Iran was not a factor favored Republicans by an even wider 74%-22% margin.
Exit polling also showed substantial opposition to the decision to use military force against Iran. Roughly six in 10 voters said Trump made the wrong decision by taking military action against Iran. Opposition was overwhelming among Democratic House voters, while roughly one-quarter of Republican voters also opposed the decision, according to CBS News.
The Iran conflict also intersected with the issue that appeared to dominate the midterms: Americans’ concerns about their household finances. CBS exit polling found voters most concerned about affording gasoline were also the most likely to oppose the military action against Iran.
Eighty-nine percent of voters described the cost of living as a crucial or major factor in choosing their candidates, according to preliminary exit-poll data. Another 88% said they were very or somewhat concerned about grocery costs, while 59% were very concerned about gasoline prices.
Those findings followed months of concern about inflation, energy prices and the economic consequences of the conflict. A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted immediately before Election Day found 55% believed the war with Iran was not worth its cost. Only 25% in that pre-election survey said the conflict was worth the cost.
The same Reuters/Ipsos poll found 48% of registered voters identified the cost of living as their most important voting issue. Economic anxiety remained widespread when voters actually reached the polls Tuesday. CBS found voters were more than twice as likely to report their finances had worsened rather than improved.
Roughly three-quarters of voters also described themselves as dissatisfied or angry about the direction of the country. The economy ranked as voters’ most important issue nationally, followed by concerns about the state of American democracy.
Republican voters identified the economy as their leading issue, followed by immigration, while Democratic voters placed greater emphasis on democracy, though they can’t name a single right that has been ‘taken away’ by Trump and Republicans over the past two years.
Democrats captured control of both the House and Senate while winning races in several red states that supported Trump during the 2024 presidential election. Reuters reported that high prices, independent voters and dissatisfaction with Trump were among the factors contributing to Democratic gains.
