In the Top of the News Stack, outgoing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that the Republican losses in the midterm elections are "close to an extinction-level event" for the party "in many parts of the country, as we have seen probably in the last 100 years." DeSantis spoke after Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate on Election Day. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida House Republican, won the contest for DeSantis' seat despite other GOP candidates losing their gubernatorial races around the U.S. "Here's the thing. Democrats are unpopular. They were able to win based off the sentiment that exists in the country right now. They did not earn a mandate to indulge all their left-wing fantasies. And they're going to be in there governing, and we'll see what ends up happening," DeSantis said. "But this was not a positive view of the Democrats. This was a rejection of Republicans in Washington," he added. "And Democrats just happened to be the beneficiary." DeSantis, who has not ruled out a 2028 presidential bid, said, "In January, when everyone in office leaves, who were either term-limited or got voted out of the 10 largest states in this union, only one state will have Republican control of their state, the state of Florida. "Last night we witnessed — to call it a wave, I don't think would be fully accurate — it's the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States. Blue states, red states, everything in between," DeSantis said. "And the one state that was able to hold the line and withstand that is right here in the free state of Florida. "If you look at our chief rival, in a healthy sense, the state of Texas, and I would say over my lifetime, Texas has been the crown jewel of Republican politics. I think we've been the leader for Republicans and conservatives since I've been governor. But if you go over the whole generation, no one holds a candle on the Republican side to the Lone Star State. And yet, not only did they lose a very highly publicized U.S. Senate race, they lost everything," DeSantis continued.

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the Trump administration's ongoing war with Iran was to blame for Republicans' massive losses in Tuesday's midterm election, during which Democrats reclaimed control of both chambers of Congress. But President Donald Trump, asked about Vance's comments, remained committed to the ongoing military action despite "largely" agreeing with Vance about the impact of the war on the election. The vice president wrote in a lengthy social media post that "the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone." "The reason we lost is the war," Vance said of the Trump administration's ongoing conflict with Iran. "The president himself said so last night." Vance said he spoke with pollsters who told him that many people who voted for Trump in 2024 switched to the Democrats in this election because they were "angry." "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. But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there," Vance wrote. The vice president in the past has publicly been supportive of the war and slammed the president's critics over the issue.