Iran war takes back seat as Republicans focus on economy at midterm convention

The Republican midterm convention in Dallas, as expected, largely focused on messaging geared toward domestic affairs: taxes, immigration and culture wars.

U.S. President Donald Trump worked in a few mentions of the Iran war. Vice President JD Vance took some Democrats to task for supporting terror groups. But polling is clear: affordability and the economy are top-of-mind issues for voters.

“Any time you get two days to spread our message to talk about what we've accomplished the last two years and what's at stake the next two, that's a winner for our side,” Jewish House member Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) told i24NEWS from the convention sidelines.

Fine said Trump should still tout his decision to confront the Islamic Republic, even as it drags in his poll numbers.

“My constituents pay about 90 cents more a gallon of gas than before the conflict started, and they don't like it, and I understand that,” Fine said. “But dealing with a country that's killed thousands of Americans and who has said for 47 years they want to create a nuclear weapon to kill us all, we should be grateful that President Trump has been willing to take on that challenge.”

Trump spoke from the convention floor a few times on Wednesday about the Iran conflict, though it was difficult to tell how much of it was scripted and how much he winged. There was no other significant mention of the conflict by any other speaker.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said public sentiment should dictate the party’s messaging heading into the election, but Trump should have nothing hide in terms of his foreign policy.

“The public's saying the prices are too high. Biden caused that. Democrats have caused that,” Scott told i24NEWS from Dallas, deflecting blame to the previous administration. “They wanted to destroy the gas industry and push gas prices up. They caused massive inflation. They destroyed the job market. So, look what Trump is bringing back.”

Scott said he encourages Trump not to “shy away from what he's done internationally. Look at what he's done by holding Iran accountable, by making sure NATO's stronger, by holding China accountable. He's got a lot to brag about,” even as the bulk of his focus needs to remain on domestic issues like education and public safety.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who is fighting for survival in a critical swing district, told i24NEWS that “we have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Lawler chairs the Middle East and North Africa subcommittee on the House Foreign Affairs Committee while also serving on the House Financial Services Committee.

“So, I spend a lot of time focused on both, because that is the purview of the federal government,” Lawler said. “Obviously, the American people want us to focus heavily on the issues that matter to their everyday living-the cost of living, affordability, housing, education, healthcare, energy…these are issues we are focused on heavily.”

But if post-election analysis shows cost-of-living matters indeed decided the election, there’s little doubt fingers will point at those who decided on, and encouraged, the Iran war.

Sam Markstein, spokesman and national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, told i24NEWS that “there's certainly a lot of open-ended questions to see how the war ends,” adding “We very have a lot of faith in the U.S. military to get the job done.”

He noted that oil prices, while stubbornly high, haven’t reached the doomsday scenarios many analysts thought were inevitable.

“It's still staying steady at around $100 a barrel, which is, yes, high. But it's going to come down once the war is over and the war is won, and the Strait of Hormuz is able to be accommodating of what we're trying to do there, which is to continue to get resources in and out,” Markstein said.

The RJC will be focusing a large part of its attention and resources on the Michigan Senate race featuring Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, a virulent critic of Israel and, according to some, a candidate who has justified terror activity against Jews.

“Jewish Democrats, I'm talking to you directly. This is the time to put yourself and your people first,” Markstein said, encouraging them to vote for the Republican nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers.

i24NEWS caught up in the arena with Brandon Maly of Manchester, New Hampshire, on the first night of the event.

Maly, an Orthodox Jew, said that “the administration wants to focus on the issues that are going to get those infrequent voters out,” with the Iran war “not one of the issues that's going to juice the base.”

He acknowledged “it's just a little bit tough to sell two months from an election that we're making slow and steady gains and are crippling Iran's economy. I think it's all going to happen at once that that regime collapses.”

Pejman, who declined to give his last name, was part of a group of Iranian dissidents who were waving Iranian and Israeli flags in the arena concourse, talking to anyone who would listen.

Pejman told i24NEWS that “if you are a very average American, you think this is not your war. But, you are gravely mistaken. The tentacles of Islamic Republic are everywhere in every mosque in the U.S.”

He said Iranians were “so disappointed” when Trump said months ago that “help was on the way” for the people there, falling short of expectations that Washington would carry out more high-target assassinations or arm Iranian citizens.

“What do you expect from Iranian people? But when this help comes, they have to just finish the job. Take one more layer, and Iranian people are going to do the rest,” Pejman said. The president should trust me: Iranian people are fed up, and they are ready to finish this regime once and forever.”

Leora Levy, a longtime party activist, stayed away from the convention. An Orthodox Jew, Levy needed to be home on Friday to prepare Rosh Hashanah dinner, and a Thursday night finish to the convention wouldn't give her the time needed, she told i24NEWS by phone.

She said, “I understand the political calculation,” when asked why the party limited its Iran messaging during the convention. “I think that leadership matters, and no matter what issue the president is dealing with, he is leading, and I think he needs to separate his leadership on the war from any domestic politics,” Levy said.

Iran is “an issue that will affect our country for many generations to come,” Levy said. “It's very important for our safety that he takes the lead on this issue and that he makes those decisions on Iran completely separate from the domestic political scene, and that he makes those domestic political decisions based on their merit.”