The Republican Party on Tuesday gained a late burst of energy in its flagging midterm election campaign following remarks by John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, in which he said college students could “get stuck in Iraq” if they do not study hard.

While campaigning in California, the Massachusetts senator told a college crowd on Monday: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”