Tillis says he does not buy Vance's explanation and points to turnout
Thom TillisU.S. senator from North Carolina, speaking to Jewish Insider
Tillis said he did not accept Vance's explanation of the midterm losses and that Vance should look at the turnout data in North Carolina, where he said unaffiliated voters turned out heavily and some right-of-center Republicans did not.
“I don't buy it ... JD needs to go back and really look at the cross-tabs, needs to look at the turnout in my state ... That's why we lost”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Vance blames the Iran war for Republicans' midterm losses; Trump says he would do it again
The morning after Democrats won both chambers of Congress in the November 3, 2026 midterms, Vice President JD Vance wrote that the reason Republicans lost is the war with Iran. Trump called that largely true but said he would make the same decision again.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Jewish Insider report on Republican senators' responses to Vance's claim that the Iran war and the U.S. relationship with Israel cost Republicans the midterms, with on-record remarks from John Cornyn, John Kennedy, Thom Tillis, Ted Cruz, Ted Budd and Rick Scott.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Vance wrote on November 4 that the war was the reason Republicans lost the midterms. Tillis did not seek reelection in 2026.
After the quotation
Tillis also said the American people are pro-Israel, Jewish Insider reported.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Tillis disputes Vance's account of why Republicans lost and attributes the North Carolina result to turnout, without judging the war itself, so we labeled it as challenging the characterization.
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More from this case
Read the full casePence says voters were frustrated not because Trump started the Iran war but because the administration did not finish it
“I disagree with the vice president about the reasons for the midterm election outcome. ... There's no question that the war in Iran became a frustration for millions of Americans, but it wasn't because President Trump started the war or took on Iran. It's because we stopped short and didn't finish it”Read statement
Trump says the U.S. does not need a deal with Iran and tells Vance to focus on crime
“I have asked Vice President Vance to focus his complete and total attention on the Massive Corruption and Crime taking place in Democrat run Cities and States throughout the U.S. ... We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!”Read statement
Randy Fine says Vance's post-election message blamed Jews for the losses
“I definitively will not be supporting the vice president in that nominating contest. I thought his message that he put out the day after the election was abhorrent and, frankly, smacked of the kind of thing you'd read in 1932 Germany ... He's out in my book ... He blamed the Jews for losing the election.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Tillis says he does not buy Vance's explanation and points to turnout". First published: 2026-11-13. Last updated: 2026-11-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/8883-tillis-said-he-did-not-accept-vance-s