Florida Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican, publicly accused Vice President JD Vance of blaming Jewish people for the party’s midterm election losses in a post-election analysis posted online. Fine, who is Jewish, stated in an interview with Fox News that Vance’s remarks amounted to an attack on the Jewish community and swore off supporting Vance’s potential 2028 presidential ambitions.
In a separate statement, Rep. Randy Fine said Vance’s analysis was "abhorrent" and compared it to rhetoric from 1932 Germany. Fine added, "He blamed the Jews for losing the election."
Vance’s analysis, shared the day after the election, identified four key reasons disillusioned Republican voters cast ballots for Democrats: ending the war in Iran, focusing on the cost of living, prioritizing America-first policies, and altering the U.S.-Israel relationship. Vance emphasized the Iran conflict as the primary factor, noting that former President Donald Trump had also cited it as a decisive issue in post-election interviews.
Fine disputed Vance’s framing, arguing that three of the four reasons Vance listed implicitly targeted Jewish voters or the U.S.-Israel relationship. Fine did not provide further elaboration on his claim beyond his public statements.
The dispute comes as the GOP grapples with internal divisions over its stance on Israel and foreign policy priorities. Vance has been courting disaffected Trump voters to form a "New Right" alliance, while Fine’s remarks underscore broader tensions within the party regarding its approach to the U.S.-Israel relationship and domestic economic concerns.
Vance’s office has not publicly responded to Fine’s accusations. The vice president’s analysis did not explicitly mention Jewish people or the U.S.-Israel relationship in the context of assigning blame for the election results.
The midterm elections resulted in Republicans losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, prompting intraparty debates over policy priorities and messaging for future campaigns.