Iran Exit, Gas Prices, Tariffs: GOP Strategists Map The Road Back For 2028

Republican strategists say ending the war in Iran won’t be enough for the party to win in 2028 unless the costs of gas and groceries decrease. 

Exit polling showed that the war was a top factor in the GOP’s recent midterm losses. Vice President JD Vance posted a statement the day after the election blaming the war, launched by the Trump administration, for the defeats.

GOP strategists told the Daily Signal that the party’s eventual nominee in 2028 must be able to point to a clean exit from the conflict but, more importantly, offer voters a plan to lower costs. 

“The haphazard tariff policy and rollout was also an economic disaster, putting aside whatever you may think of tariffs,” one strategist said. “A fair and comprehensive view of the inflation / affordability issue as it played out earlier in the month should include both the war and Liberation Day,” the strategist said, referring to the April 2025 announcement of sweeping tariffs. 

By 2028, Vance will be tied to the war by opponents and voters, the strategist said, adding that the conflict must end in order for the GOP to have a chance in the next election. 

“Either way, it’s clear that we need to get out to be viable in 2028,” the strategist said. “There will always be consequences for things like this. It’s too early to know how things will look in 2028, but the sooner we find a way out, the more runway there will be for those effects to fade.”

On Thursday, President Donald Trump pulled Vance away from negotiations with Iran and directed him to focus on rooting out fraud in blue states. “We don’t need a deal with Iran,” the president stated on Truth Social.

A clear end to the war paired with a focus on affordability is a guarantee of success in 2028, a conservative communications strategist told the Daily Signal.

“How this plays in 2028 is simple: whoever claims a clean exit, if it happens, and then hammers affordability, wins,” the strategist said.

If there is no clear exit from Iran by 2027 and early 2028, the strategist warned, “Democrats will pin every gas-price spike on it,” leaving the nominee “stuck defending the timetable instead of results.” 

The GOP “lost significant ground from 2024” among young voters under 40, the strategist said, voters who “still carry the costs of Iraq and Afghanistan in their heads and don’t want a forever war.” 

A third Republican strategist agreed the war “played a role” in the party’s losses, magnifying “a lot of economic problems for working Americans, most notably high gas and diesel prices.” However, the strategist cautioned against making the war the sole explanation. 

“The war ending won’t magically make all our problems go away or bring independent voters back to us. We need to do some real work to earn those voters again and listen to concerns around issues like health care prices, government corruption, grocery prices, etc,” the strategist said. 

Vance’s team sees his opposition to the war as an asset heading into 2028, according to Politico. GOP hawks have criticized the vice president for his opposition to the conflict, Politico reported, but his team welcomes the criticism and sees it as his chance to rebrand. 

“I think JD warmly welcomes that fight, because he not only has the moral high ground but also the wildly more popular position, Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point spokesperson, told Politico. 

One GOP consultant previously told the Daily Signal that ties to the administration can still be toxic in the next run for the White House, which was a take away from the 2026 midterms. 

More from this network:
Domains for Sale · GOTPeople.org · TheDSAPlatform · The Truth About Socialism

Donate to GOTPeople.org