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Within the Republican Party, initial shock at Tuesday night's surprising election results quickly gave way to anger against President Donald Trump.
After Democrats scored one upset victory after another in traditionally Republican states like Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, some Republicans focused their anger on Trump, arguing that his focus on his legacy and indifference to voters' concerns cost the party control of Congress.
"The responsibility is his. It's no one else's. It's a complete and utter rejection of President Trump," Bill Miller, a prominent Texas Republican lobbyist, told the BBC. "This is a major disaster. Nobody saw it coming."
Most Republicans expected to lose control of the House of Representatives and were aware of the challenge of maintaining control of the Senate in a difficult election cycle that favored the party not in power.
But some said in interviews that Trump hurt them with unpopular policies, a low approval rating and an obsession with construction projects in Washington.
"It was one mistake after another," said Gregg Peppin, a Minnesota Republican strategist. "Clearly, in many states, people didn't like the president's policies."
A White House ally said public disapproval of Trump over his administration's war on Iran, tariffs and immigration crackdowns created a "perfect storm" in November.
"There is palpable frustration within the party with how events have unfolded," he said, and much of it is directed at Trump. Anger with Trump "is very high."
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The BBC spoke to a dozen party insiders, campaign officials, White House allies and others, many of whom spoke anonymously, to offer a candid assessment of Trump's approach to the midterm elections.
Trump and the Republicans had a lot at stake with the outcome of Tuesday night. A better performance by the president's party, as happened in 2022, when Democrats under then-President Joe Biden lost just nine seats in the House of Representatives and gained one in the Senate, would have given Republicans some momentum going into 2028.
But Trump will instead face a motivated Democratic majority in Congress, eager to investigate the administration, block his judicial nominees and hinder the rest of his agenda.
The midterm elections have ushered in a new uncertain phase in Trump's second term and could force Republicans to begin considering their future after the Trump era.
"I wasn't on the ballot"
"I don't think his influence is waning," Steve Scheffler, a member of the Republican National Committee in Iowa, said on the eve of the election. However, he added that when it came to the midterm elections, "there were things you wish he would have said differently."
Trump remained silent for much of the night before posting a message on Truth Social after Democrats' House and Senate victories were announced.
"I was not on the ballot and if I had been, we would have won by a landslide! Thank you for your attention to this matter," Trump wrote.
In subsequent interviews with the New York Times and Fox News, he stated that he would accept the election results. Trump told Fox that he was "a little surprised" by the results, but noted that his party often performed poorly in midterm elections.
Since 1934, the party in the White House has only gained seats in three midterm elections. While Democratic gains in 2026 did not set a record, the party did win dozens of House seats, state gubernatorial races and Senate seats, even in states where it had not been competitive for decades.
Before Tuesday, Democrats had not won a Kansas Senate seat since 1932, and they had not won a state election in Texas in more than three decades. The party also scored upset victories in other traditionally Republican states, such as South Carolina, which were considered Republican strongholds just weeks before Election Day.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance held dozens of campaign rallies in the run-up to the midterm elections. The main Trump-aligned Super PAC, MAGA Inc., spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Republican candidates.
Trump's allies said it was unfair to hold him responsible for the party's electoral losses. They pointed to the record of the midterm elections and said the party was hurt by the presence of weak Republican candidates in key states such as Georgia, Michigan and Texas.
Ken Paxton, the Texas Republican Senate candidate, ran "the worst Senate campaign in the country, regardless of party," said another member of the Texas Republican Party, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"I'd be surprised if Ken's campaign had knocked on 100,000 doors," the source added. And he added that Paxton's Democratic opponent, James Talarico, who emerged victorious, ran "a really good, smart campaign."
failed attempts
Others defended Trump's fall campaign schedule, noting that he had to balance his day job of running the country with travel related to the midterm elections.
"He's the president. He's not going to spend his time campaigning 24/7," said Krish Mathrani, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party's youth committee.
Mathrani said Trump's campaign rallies helped boost enthusiasm among Republican voters. "President Trump is a voter mobilization machine," he added.
That's true in presidential elections. But Trump's much-vaunted voter mobilization strategy has not worked in elections where he is not on the ballot, and 2026 was no exception.
Voters rejected Trump's argument that the economy had improved during his time in office and that he was achieving his goals in the war against Iran. Trump's attempt to portray Democrats as extremist socialists also failed, as voters handed victories to moderates like Roy Cooper in North Carolina.
"That just didn't work with Cooper," an official from that campaign said. "Trying to label him a socialist liberal wasn't going to work."
Over the summer, when Republicans in Congress focused their attention on the election, Trump often seemed uninterested in it.
Trump was absorbed in the war with Iran abroad and in the comprehensive reshaping of Washington. Projects included the under-construction ballroom and helipad on the South Lawn of the White House, the renovation of a local golf course, a proposed memorial arch near Arlington Cemetery and the renovation of the Kennedy Center.
Events like a UFC fight at the White House during Trump's 80th birthday in June gave the impression that the president was more interested in celebrating himself than winning the midterm elections, according to multiple sources.
Trump also repeatedly downplayed rising gas prices and often portrayed the affordability issue as a Democrats' hoax.
In September, during the Republican Party's midterm convention, Trump focused all his attention on the election. The event was a risky gamble: Republicans had not held a midterm convention in decades, and it was anyone's guess whether voters would follow through.
Trump dominated the convention in Dallas, frustrating Republicans who told the BBC they wanted to give prominence to the party's candidates for the midterm elections.
In his rambling opening speech, Trump promised to give $5,000 to anyone who voted Republican and raised eyebrows with his endorsement of Paxton, which included a lengthy critique of the candidate's lack of charisma and physical appearance.
"Obviously, that's never helpful," said Robin Armstrong, a Republican National Committee member from Texas, referring to Trump's criticism of Paxton. "You can't stop what President Trump says. We just have to accept it."
The convention failed to attract a large television audience, and Democrats were quick to call it a failure. "It backfired on the Republicans because no one paid attention," said Terri Burke, executive director of the Texas Democratic Party.
Trump's tendency to stray from his main message continued during his election campaign in the final weeks before Election Day. He made headlines for praising Ohio Republican Sen. John Husted's physique and received criticism for calling El-Sayed a "jihadist" in the Michigan Senate race.
New direction
While Trump toured the country campaigning for Republican candidates, the White House grappled with controversies in Washington. Katie Zacharia was ousted after just five days as White House press secretary, and Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as U.S. ambassador to Greece after reports surfaced that she had asked a donor to pay off her credit card debt.
Trump also came under fire in October for reaching a deal to buy Russian diesel. The deal, which surprised members of Congress and drew condemnation from some Republicans, came just weeks after Trump signed a sanctions bill aimed at cutting off Russian oil and gas revenues.
Democrats took advantage of the agreement and other scandals surrounding the White House to justify their intention to regain control of Congress. The message finally had an effect, as the Democrats managed to decisively wrest control of both chambers of Congress.
A second White House ally said the president's political advisers projected optimism until the final days of the election, even as it became clear the party was headed for defeat.
Now, as Republicans take stock of that defeat, several said they are ready to look ahead to the 2028 elections.
"Whether it's JD Vance, Macro Rubio or Ted Cruz, we have a good pool of candidates," said Scheffler, a member of the state's Republican National Committee. "It will be a very open contest."
Peppin, the Republican strategist, said the results of the midterm elections showed that the party needed a new direction. "I sincerely hope that we have left the Trump era behind us and that going forward we have new actors, new issues and a new approach."
This article was originally written in English and we used an artificial intelligence tool to translate it. A BBC journalist reviewed the text before publication. Learn more about how we use AI.
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