Reporter's notebook: Even in rural Maine, Israel and Iran were central issues in the US midterms

The general consensus was that Israel’s current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is viewed negatively. He’s a polarizing figure and, in many areas, is rarely seen positively.Follow us on GoogleUS Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Republican candidate for re-election, interacts with supporters at a watch party during the US midterm elections, at the Hilton Garden Inn, in Bangor, Maine, US, November 3, 2026. (photo credit: REUTERS/Taylor Coester)NOVEMBER 4, 2026 18:51As the results of the US mid-term elections began to come in, I was digging into a massive piece of meatloaf at a restaurant in Blue Hill, Maine. The restaurant, Stowaways Town Tavern, was humming with activity on the evening of November 3.A large television in one room showed the results. A CNN team was live in Portland, Maine. Portland is Maine's largest city. It sits on the coast, closer to Boston than most of Maine.CNN came to Portland because US Republican Senator Susan Collins was up for re-election, and she was trying to continue her thirty-year tenure in the Senate. Maine Democrat Troy Jackson was running against Collins, and polls had him ahead. As a result, Maine became one of the closely watched Senate races, along with races in Michigan, Alaska, and other places.At Stowaways Tavern, the conversations seemed to mostly be about random topics. How to make a Cuban sandwich. Should brown sugar be in a Mojito? If elections weren’t the central discussion here, it might be because Mainers had been flooded with election materials and were finally able to unwind.Post office boxes have been overflowing with brochures slamming Jackson or Collins. Roadsides are covered in signs.Fall foliage is seen in Patten, Maine, on October 13, 2026. (credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images)Even in rural Maine, Iran, Israel on people's mindsSpeaking to people over the last week, it was clear that even in rural Maine, in areas further east and north from Blue Hill, the issue of the Iran war and also Israel is one that is on people’s minds. I was asked several times about the Israeli elections, who won, and how they work.The general consensus was that Israel’s current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is viewed negatively. He’s a polarizing figure and, in many areas, rarely seen positively.The criticism of Israel isn’t the stereotypes we hear. It was more pragmatic. Why is Trump involved in Iran? Why is Israel at the center of chaos in the Middle East? Why is America, yet again, dealing so much with the Middle East, when Trump had promised to end endless wars?Unlike some campaigns where Israel appeared to be a topic among politicians, such as in Michigan, it didn’t appear to come up in debates between Jackson and Collins.That makes sense, because there’s no reason Israel should be a central feature of local politics. However, the unpopular Iran conflict has become central for good reason. Gas prices are higher. People don’t understand what the US is doing or why it is involved in a conflict with Iran.This isn’t because people think Iran is good. It’s because they don’t see a clear explanation of what the conflict is achieving and what the goals are.One talking point about the Iran conflict has been that Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. However, the nuclear sites haven’t been a main target in the recent conflict, which began in February 2026. This is perplexing to people. It is as perplexing as the sense among some that there would be renewed US bombing.The lack of an explanation for Americans, on the eve of the election, about the continued conflict is unique in US elections.Usually, Americans are told why they are fighting wars, even if the wars are unpopular. No Republicans appeared to campaign on the Iran war, or on what might come next there. This is a major break from the lessons learned after the Vietnam War.Under the Powell doctrine, the US got involved in the Gulf War in 1991 against Saddam Hussein with the understanding that the US had to have clear, obtainable goals. The lack of a clearly articulated goal, or a clear plan to achieve it, left many Americans uncertain on the eve of the elections.Trump's promise to end aid too little too lateIsrael also seemed to be a center of some discussions. For instance, US President Donald Trump said the US would end the billions in annual aid to Israel.His comments came amid a sense that aid to Israel has become more controversial. Trump’s comments appeared aimed at the Michigan Senate race where progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was running against Republican Mike Rogers.However, Trump’s last-minute announcement wasn’t enough to change that close race. Sayed won by several hundred thousand votes.Trump’s comments before the Israeli election, twice endorsing Israel’s Netanyahu, also didn’t seem to sway the polls much. In the end, Likud performed better than expected, but it didn’t win enough, even with its allies, to form a coalition.That confusing outcome was on the minds of some people I spoke to. They find it hard to understand Israel’s complex elections, where no party ever gets 50% of the vote.What most people seem to know is that they think Israel needs new leadership. They don’t hate Israel, but they do think that things are on the wrong path. They feel the same way about the Iran war and Trump’s trajectory.It will take time for the blame game over the mid-term elections to shake out. Some have predicted that the Trump administration, not needing to face another election for a while, will escalate against Iran.However, there appear to be a large number of people in the US and Israel who have grown tired of the weekly headlines about a new round of bombing. I didn’t meet one person, including Republicans I spoke to, who are enthusiastic about more war with Iran, without a clear goal.There may be lessons here. In Israel, over the last months, there have been headlines almost every week promising a new operation against Iran. Frequently, the headlines claim that an operation was about to happen but was canceled or postponed at the last minute.This happened in July and also in October. What will be achieved with the new bombing? Reports promise massive destruction, and “intense” airstrikes, bombing of infrastructure and energy facilities, apparently damaging and destroying things that civilians rely on.In October, on the eve of the Israeli elections, Israel’s prime minister claimed that he had ordered the overthrow of the Iranian regime. Overthrowing a regime that rules over 80 million people is a major endeavor, one whose outcome and methods have not been explained to average Israelis.Israelis, like their American counterparts, were not provided with an explanation of how renewed conflict would be different than the past. When it came to the ballot box in both Israel and the US, voters registered their disapproval of the current trajectory.Follow us on Google