Gas Prices and Epstein Files Cited as Drivers of GOP Midterm Losses
Editorial board member John Seiler links the Republican defeat in Congress to the cost of the Iran conflict and stalled efforts to release the Epstein Files.
By Amelia Gupta ·
John Seiler, a member of the San Bernardino County Editorial Board, attributed the Republican losses in the recent midterm elections to two primary factors: the ongoing war with Iran and the handling of the Epstein Files. Writing on November 5, the day after the decisive congressional races concluded, Seiler argued that these issues drove voters to the polls in a state of anger, resulting in a wipeout for the Republican Party in the U.S. Congress.
Seiler began his analysis with a personal observation on Election Day morning. At 6:13 a.m., he walked past a Shell station at the corner of Barranca Parkway and Paseo Westpark in Irvine. There, regular gasoline was priced at $5.89 per gallon and diesel at $8.39. He connected these costs to the recent New York Times report, published last month, stating that the U.S. and Israel had drawn up plans for renewed strikes on Iran following the elections.
According to Seiler, the root cause of the economic strain was President Donald Trump’s senseless war with Iran, which he described as still far from over. He noted that the conflict ignited higher prices for oil, gas, diesel, fertilizer, and helium used in computer chips. He cited a neighbor, a U.S. Marine with a wife and three children, whom he had not seen in at least six months, possibly deployed from Camp Pendleton to the Middle East as part of the thousands sent to the region.
The second major factor in Seiler’s assessment was administration corruption, epitomized by the Epstein Files. In 2024, Trump promised on the campaign trail to release the documents. However, on July 16, 2025, the President called the matter a hoax on Truth Social, stating, “I don’t want their support anymore!” to followers demanding the files. Nearly 16 months later, on November 3, millions of voters complied with his earlier implicit threat and voted for Democrats.
Seiler criticized Trump’s campaign strategy, noting that the President repeatedly told supporters to “Pretend I’m on the ballot.” The evening after the defeat, Trump claimed, “I wasn’t on the ballot.” Seiler countered that Republican candidates’ names were on the ballot, and voters were holding them accountable for failing to stop the Iran War and for their votes on the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, and co-author Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, had previously passed a bill that led to the release of about 3.5 million of an estimated 6 million pages of Epstein Files. To release the remainder, the two legislators gathered 218 signatures needed to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II in September. Axios reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, precluded the vote by sending the House home early. Only four Republicans signed the petition: Massie, Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, and South Carolina Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.
Massie was defeated in his May 19 primary after repeated attacks from Trump and $15.5 million in attack ads by pro-war groups. Seiler noted that Massie and Khanna plan to bring the petition forward when the House returns from recess on November 9 for its lame-duck session. The defeat of Massie left few Republicans in the House seeking to shed light on the files, leading voters to turn to Democrats for justice for the victims.
Seiler urged the new Democratic majority to investigate corruption, including allegations of Trump selling pardons. He interviewed several California representatives, including Rep. Dave Min, Rep. Mike Levin, Rep. Derek Tran, and Rep. Lou Correa, all of whom pledged to pursue justice rather than revenge. He emphasized that Democrats must use their new control of Congress to shut down all funding for the Iran War, which he noted received no formal approval from the Republican Congress, unlike the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.
The editorial concluded that Democrats must end the war and bring troops home to their families. Seiler stressed the need for the new congressional leadership to seek justice for Epstein victims and dig into other allegations of corruption while managing the new power dynamic in Washington.
