Vice President JD Vance says Republicans can still perform well in November’s midterm elections, even as the party confronts a clear political headwind.
President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to record lows, while the unpopular war in Iran and rising gas prices are adding to the administration’s challenges with the elections only weeks away.
Vance remains upbeat about the GOP’s prospects. In an exclusive interview with Our News Outlet this week, he said Trump’s economic agenda was already producing results, though he acknowledged that significant work remained.
“I’m not saying it’s perfect, because there’s a lot of work left to do, but it’s certainly gotten a lot better, creating a lot of jobs. These jobs have gone to American citizens, and so a lot of new investment in the country,” Vance said.
The vice president spoke with Our News Outlet after appearing at a North Carolina rally, where he urged voters to back Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley. Whatley trails his Democratic opponent by as many as 12 points, according to a recent YouGov poll.
Vance has intensified his campaign travel as Republicans seek a strong finish in races across the country.
Over the past month alone, he has rallied with Republican candidates in Michigan, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and Maine.
Vice President JD Vance spoke to Our News Outlet as he expanded his campaign schedule ahead of the November midterm elections
Vance boards Air Force 2 for a campaign trip earlier this month
Vance answers questions from reporters before departing for North Carolina
Privately, many Republican insiders in Washington are preparing for a major Democratic wave that could cost the party control of Congress and leave Trump as a lame-duck president during his final two years in office.
Recent polling shows Republicans trailing in several key Senate contests, including races in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan. The party is also facing pressure in traditionally reliable states such as Iowa and Texas.
On Wednesday, the Kalshi prediction market gave Democrats a 64 percent chance of winning control of the Senate and a 91 percent chance of taking the House.
Those numbers have led political strategists to anticipate a Democratic surge reminiscent of the 2006 midterms held during President George W. Bush’s administration.
At that time, Bush was dealing with historically weak approval ratings, an unpopular war in Iraq and gas prices that were higher than usual.
Republicans warned voters against backing Democrats, pointing to the prospect of California liberal Nancy Pelosi becoming speaker of the House.
Despite those warnings, Democrats captured the congressional majority, picking up 31 House seats and six Senate seats.
“It was a thumping,” Bush famously said after the election.
Vance told Our News Outlet that he believes Republicans could “defy history” in the 2026 midterms, calling that outcome his “best case scenario.”
Even under his worst-case scenario, Vance said, the Republican losses would not match the scale of the party’s defeat in 2006.
‘If you sort of ask me what my worst nightmare is for November 4, I just don’t think 2006 is on the table,’ Vance said about the day after the midterms in an interview with Our News Outlet. ‘One because the Democrats are a lot crazier too and two, I think we have a lot better record to run on.’
Vance said the threat posed by the radical left was much more serious than in 2006, something that more American voters had rejected in 2024 and would reject again.
The vice president spent a majority of his speech in North Carolina pointing to the absurd leftist positions embraced by Democratic candidates, warning voters not to support their radical ideas in the midterm elections.
Former Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina has tried to campaign as a moderate in the more conservative state, in the hopes of seizing a seat that leans Republican.
Vance, however, highlighted incidents where Cooper blocked what seemed to be ‘common sense’ legislation in the state because he was beholden to radical left activists in his party.
As governor, Cooper vetoed legislation that would require voter ID, clean state voter rolls, and solidify parental rights for children in schools.
Vice President JD Vance believes Republicans can ‘defy history’ and not face heavy political losses, despite concerning polls for candidates across the country
Vice President JD Vance campaigned on Monday for Republican US Senate candidate Michael Whatley, who is struggling in his race against former Governor Roy Cooper
Vice President JD Vance urges voters not to support the ‘crazy’ left-wing Democrats running for office
‘Give Roy Cooper a choice between upsetting the crazies and doing his job, and he will side with the crazies every single time,’ Vance warned during his campaign appearance. ‘We do not need a person who bends the knee to the far left. We need a fighter in the United States Senate.’
But the president’s unpopular war in Iran has only caused oil and fuel prices to rise to historically high prices, creating political pain for Republicans.
A recent CNN/SSRS poll showed that just 29 percent of US adults said they approve of the president’s handling of foreign affairs while 71 percent disapproved.
Recalling 2006, Vance said he was just months away from leaving the Marines after serving in the Middle East during the Iraq and Afghanistan war.
The vice president said he understood why voters were frustrated with the Iran war that has dragged on past the six-month point, when the president believed the conflict would have concluded.
But the conflict in Iran, he argued, was much different than the Iraq war, that in 2006 had already lasted three years into a ‘quagmire’ where thousands of American troops had died.
‘Even Americans who disagree with us on the Iran situation, I think most of them would accept this is not anything close to Iraq,’ he said.
