Election 2026 live results: Trump defends Iran war after Vance blames it for GOP losses

Heading into Tuesday, Republicans held 26 of the nation's 50 governors' offices, against 24 Democrats.

But after this year's midterm elections, Democrats flipped seats in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas. These are all states Trump won in 2024.

As a result, in 2027, Democrats will hold at least 28 governorships, compared with 20 for Republicans. ABC News has not projected winners is the races in Kansas and Alaska.

Before the 2010 election, Democrats held 26 governorships, Republicans 23, and there was 1 independent.

After the 2010 election, Republicans held 29, Democrats 20, and there was 1 independent.

Republicans have held a majority of governorships after every election since then, until Tuesday's midterm elections.

-ABC News' Juhi Doshi

Rep. Richard Hudson, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP's campaign arm for electing House Republicans, on Wednesday conceded his race in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District to Democrat Richard Ojeda.

ABC News has not projected a winner in the race.

"Last night, the voters of North Carolina’s 9th District made their choice, and I respect it," Hudson said in a statement released Wednesday.

Hudson, who was reelected by over 18 percentage points just two years ago, also said that he called Ojeda to concede.

"I wish him well and look forward to working with him to ensure a smooth transition for the people of North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District," he said.

-ABC News' Halle Troadec

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Vice President JD Vance’s analysis that Republicans lost the midterms because of the war in Iran was “largely true,” but that he would do it again because “it’s the only answer.”

“Well, I think it's largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit, short term, and probably -- that's probably, it's true. But at the same time, if I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again because long term, it's the only answer,” Trump told reporters. “You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump said he knew Vance’s view of the war from the beginning.

“I know how he feels about it. I think it was. I think it was fine. Yeah, I thought it was good,” Trump said of Vance’s post. “I knew that when I went in, and we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon, and they will never have a nuclear weapon.” (131934)

Asked if he felt the war was worth it, Trump said he did.

“I do. Yeah. I mean, well, you have no choice," he said.

"I can tell you that, as far as that war is concerned, I would have done nothing differently,” he later added.

The president, who blitzed the country in the final weeks of the campaign, visiting ruby-red GOP strongholds, and where Democrats handed Republicans upsets, maintained they would have won if he were on the ballot. Trump had repeatedly asked rallygoers to pretend he was on the ballot.

“No, look. I mean, if I were on the ballot, we would have won. You saw the people that were packed, thousands and thousands of people at every rally, and if I was on the ballot, we would have won, but they just -- you couldn't transfer that love. There was such love at those rallies; it was incredible. We weren't able to transfer the love to candidates.”

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa and Fritz Farrow

President Donald Trump, speaking publicly for the first time Wednesday following Republicans' significant midterm election losses, touted the construction of the White House ballroom from inside the space -- as well as other construction projects around Washington.

The president and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed a beam that workers attached to a chain and lifted in the ballroom.