Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offered a blunt assessment of the Republican Party’s losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections, comparing the nationwide Democratic gains to a “meteor strike” and warning that the consequences could extend well beyond the next election cycle.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, DeSantis rejected the idea that the results could simply be described as a political wave, arguing that the scale of the Republican defeat was far more significant.

“To call it a wave, I don’t think would be fully accurate. It’s the political equivalent of a meteor strike that went all around the United States, blue states, red states, everything in between,” DeSantis said, according to Politico.

The governor described the results as nearly an “extinction-level event” for Republicans in several parts of the country, saying the party had suffered some of its worst setbacks in generations. Democrats captured control of both chambers of Congress and made significant gains in states that have traditionally been Republican strongholds.

DeSantis pointed to Florida as an exception, highlighting Republican victories in the state's gubernatorial and Senate races. He argued that Florida Republicans had built a record of achievement and earned enough trust from voters to withstand the national political environment.

He also singled out Texas, which he described as a longtime cornerstone of Republican politics. Democrats' victories in major statewide races there, he warned, could have consequences for the party's national standing for years.

“If the Republican Party doesn’t have Texas as an anchor, then we are not going to be viable nationally going forward,” DeSantis said.

The governor cautioned that Republicans could struggle to regain unified control of Washington in 2028, arguing that the losses would affect the party's ability to advance its agenda, confirm conservative nominees and shape federal policy.

DeSantis also disputed the idea that Democrats had necessarily received a mandate for their own agenda, characterizing the election results instead as a rejection of Republicans in Washington. He argued that Democrats benefited from voter dissatisfaction with the party in power.

His comments add to an emerging debate among Republicans over the causes of the midterm defeat, with party leaders and lawmakers offering differing explanations involving the economy, the Iran war, Trump's public conduct and the GOP's broader political strategy.