Republican elephant

The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a right-wing political party in the United States. One of the two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the two parties have dominated American politics since then.

The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists opposing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the expansion of slavery into U.S. territories. It rapidly gained support in the North, drawing in former Whigs and Free Soilers. Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 led to the secession of Southern states and the outbreak of the American Civil War. Under Lincoln and a Republican-controlled Congress, the party led efforts to preserve the Union, defeat the Confederacy, and abolish slavery. During the Reconstruction era, Republicans sought to extend civil rights protections to freedmen, but by the late 1870s the party shifted its focus toward business interests and industrial expansion. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it dominated national politics, promoting protective tariffs, infrastructure development, and ''laissez-faire'' economic policies, while navigating internal divisions between progressive and conservative factions. The party's support declined during the Great Depression, as the New Deal coalition reshaped American politics. Republicans returned to national power with the 1952 election of Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose moderate conservatism reflected a pragmatic acceptance of many New Deal-era programs.

The Republican Party has undergone several ideological and demographic shifts since the mid-20th century. Following the civil rights era, it gained strength in the South through the Southern strategy, which appealed to many White voters disaffected by Democratic support for civil rights. The 1980 election of Ronald Reagan marked a major realignment, consolidating a coalition of free market advocates, social conservatives, and foreign policy hawks. Since 2009, internal divisions have grown, leading to a shift toward right-wing populism, which ultimately became its dominant faction. This culminated in the 2016 election of Donald Trump, whose leadership style and political agenda—often referred to as Trumpism—reshaped the party's identity. In the 21st century, the Republican Party's strongest demographics are rural voters, White Southerners, evangelical Christians, men, senior citizens, and voters without college degrees.

On economic issues, the party has maintained a pro-capital attitude since its inception. It currently supports Trump's mercantilist policies, including tariffs on imports on all countries at the highest rates in the world while opposing globalization and free trade. It also supports low income taxes and deregulation while opposing labor unions, a public health insurance option and single-payer healthcare. On social issues, it advocates for restricting abortion, supports tough on crime policies, such as capital punishment and the prohibition of recreational drug use, promotes gun ownership and easing gun restrictions, and opposes transgender rights. The party favors limited legal immigration but strongly opposes illegal immigration and favors the deportation of those without permanent legal status, such as undocumented immigrants and those with temporary protected status. In foreign policy, the party supports U.S. aid to Israel but is divided on aid to Ukraine and improving relations with Russia, with Trump's ascent empowering an isolationist " America First" foreign policy agenda.

History

In 1854, the Republican Party emerged to combat the expansion of slavery into western territories after the passing of the Kansas–Nebraska Act. The early Republican Party consisted of northern Protestants, factory workers, professionals, businessmen, prosperous farmers, and after the Civil War also of black former slaves. The party had very little support from white Southerners at the time, who predominantly backed the Democratic Party in the Solid South, and from Irish and German Catholics, who made up a major Democratic voting block. While both parties adopted pro-business policies in the 19th century, the early GOP was distinguished by its support for the national banking system, the gold standard, railroads, and high tariffs. The party opposed the expansion of slavery before 1861 and led the fight to destroy the Confederate States of America (1861–1865). While the Republican Party had almost no presence in the Southern United States at its inception, it was very successful in the Northern United States, where by 1858 it had enlisted former Whigs and former Free Soil Democrats to form majorities in nearly every Northern state.

With the election of its first president, Abraham Lincoln, in 1860, the party's success in guiding the Union to victory in the Civil War, and the party's role in the abolition of slavery, the Republican Party largely dominated the national political scene until 1932. In 1912, former Republican president Theodore Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party after being rejected by the GOP and ran unsuccessfully as a third-party presidential candidate calling for social reforms. The GOP lost its congressional majorities during the Great Depression (1929–1940); under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democrats formed a winning New Deal coalition that was dominant from 1932 through 1964.

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Southern strategy, the party's core base shifted with the Southern states becoming more reliably Republican in presidential politics and the Northeastern states becoming more reliably Democratic. White voters increasingly identified with the Republican Party after the 1960s. Following the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in ''Roe v. Wade'', the Republican Party opposed abortion in its party platform and grew its support among evangelicals. The Republican Party won five of the six presidential elections from 1968 to 1988. Two-term President Ronald Reagan, who held office from 1981 to 1989, was a transformative party leader. His conservative policies called for reduced social government spending and regulation, increased military spending, lower taxes, and a strong anti-Soviet Union foreign policy. Reagan's influence upon the party persisted into the 21st century.

Since the 1990s, the party's support has chiefly come from the South, the Great Plains, the Mountain States, and rural areas in the North. It supports free market economics, cultural conservatism, and originalism in constitutional jurisprudence. There have been 19 Republican presidents, the most from any one political party.

Trump era

In the 2016 presidential election, Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The result was unexpected; polls leading up to the election showed Clinton leading the race. Trump's victory was fueled by narrow victories in three states—Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—that had been part of the Democratic blue wall for decades. It was attributed to strong support amongst working-class white voters, who felt dismissed and disrespected by the political establishment. Trump became popular with them by abandoning Republican establishment orthodoxy in favor of a broader nationalist message. His election accelerated the Republican Party's shift towards right-wing populism and resulted in decreasing influence among its conservative factions.

After the 2016 elections, Republicans maintained their majority in the Senate, the House, and governorships, and wielded newly acquired executive power with Trump's election. The Republican Party controlled 69 of 99 state legislative chambers in 2017, the most it had held in history. The Party also held 33 governorships, the most it had held since 1922. The party had total control of government in 25 states, the most since 1952. The opposing Democratic Party held full control of only five states in 2017. In the 2018 elections, Republicans lost control of the House, but strengthened their hold on the Senate.

Over the course of his presidency, Trump appointed three justices to the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. He was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress but was acquitted by the Senate in 2020. Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden but refused to concede the race, claiming widespread electoral fraud and attempting to overturn the results. On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by Trump supporters following a rally at which Trump spoke. After the attack, the House impeached Trump for a second time on the charge of incitement of insurrection, making him the only federal officeholder to be impeached twice. The Senate acquitted him in February 2021, after he had already left office. Following the 2020 election, election denial became increasingly mainstream in the party, with the majority of Republican candidates in 2022 being election deniers. The party also made efforts to restrict voting based on false claims of fraud. By 2020, the Republican Party had greatly shifted towards illiberalism following the election of Trump, and research conducted by the V-Dem Institute concluded that the party was more similar to Europe's most right-wing parties such as Law and Justice in Poland or Fidesz in Hungary.

The party went into the 2022 elections confident and with analysts predicting a red wave, but it underperformed expectations, with voters in swing states and competitive districts joining Democrats in rejecting candidates who had been endorsed by Trump or who had denied the results of the 2020 election. The party won control of the House with a narrow majority, but lost the Senate and several state legislative majorities and governorships."State Partisan Composition"
May 23, 2023, National Conference of State Legislatures, retrieved July 4, 2023. . Cronin, Tom and Bob Loevy
"American federalism: States veer far left or far right"
, July 1, 2023, updated July 2, 2023, ''Colorado Springs Gazette,'' retrieved July 4, 2023"In the States, Democrats All but Ran the Table"
November 11, 2022, ''The New York Times,'' retrieved July 4, 2023 The results led to a number of Republicans and conservative thought leaders questioning whether Trump should continue as the party's main figurehead and leader.

Despite those disappointments, Trump easily won the nomination to be the party's candidate again in 2024, marking the third straight election of him being the GOP nominee. Trump – who survived an ear injury in an assassination attempt during the campaign – achieved victory against Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced President Biden on the Democratic ticket after his withdrawal in July. He won both the electoral college and popular vote, becoming the first Republican to do so since George W. Bush in 2004, and improving his vote share among working class voters, particularly among young men, those without college degrees, and Hispanic voters. The Republicans also held a slim majority in the House and retook control of the Senate, securing the party's first trifecta since 2017.

Current status

As of , the GOP holds the presidency, and majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, giving them a federal government trifecta. It also holds 27 state governorships, 28 state legislatures, and 23 state government trifectas. Six of the nine current U.S. Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican presidents, three of them were appointed by Trump. There have been 19 Republicans who have served as president, the most from any one political party, the most recent being current president Donald Trump, who became the 47th president on January 20, 2025. Trump also served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

Name and symbols

The Republican Party's founding members chose its name as homage to the values of republicanism promoted by Democratic-Republican Party, which its founder, Thomas Jefferson, called the "Republican Party". The idea for the name came from an editorial by the party's leading publicist, Horace Greeley, who called for "some simple name like 'Republican' hatwould more fitly designate those who had united to restore the Union to its true mission of champion and promulgator of Liberty rather than propagandist of slavery". The name reflects the 1776 republican values of civic virtue and opposition to aristocracy and corruption.Gould, pp. 14–15 "Republican" has a variety of meanings around the world, and the Republican Party has evolved such that the meanings no longer always align.

The term "Grand Old Party" is a traditional nickname for the Republican Party, and the abbreviation "GOP" is a commonly used designation. The term originated in 1875 in the ''Congressional Record'', referring to the party associated with the successful military defense of the Union as "this gallant old party". The following year in an article in the ''Cincinnati Commercial'', the term was modified to "grand old party". The first use of the abbreviation is dated 1884.

The traditional mascot of the party is the elephant. A political cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in ''Harper's Weekly'' on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol. The cartoon was published during the debate over a third term for President Ulysses S. Grant. It draws imagery and text from the Aesop fable " The Ass in the Lion's Skin", combined with rumors of animals escaping from the Central Park Zoo.
An alternate symbol of the Republican Party in states such as Indiana, New York and Ohio is the bald eagle as opposed to the Democratic rooster or the Democratic five-pointed star. In Kentucky, the log cabin is a symbol of the Republican Party.

Traditionally the party had no consistent color identity. After the 2000 presidential election, the color red became associated with Republicans. During and after the election, the major broadcast networks used the same color scheme for the electoral map: states won by Republican nominee George W. Bush were colored red and states won by Democratic nominee Al Gore were colored blue. Due to the weeks-long dispute over the election results, these color associations became firmly ingrained, persisting in subsequent years. Although the assignment of colors to political parties is unofficial and informal, the media has come to represent the respective political parties using these colors. The party and its candidates have also come to embrace the color red.

File:NastRepublicanElephant.jpg, An 1874 cartoon by Thomas Nast, featuring the first notable appearance of the Republican elephant
File:Republicanlogo.svg, The red, white and blue elephant as seen on the GOP web site in 2011
File:GOP Logo1.svg, The GOP banner logo,
File:GOP logo.svg, A GOP banner logo,

Factions

Civil War and Reconstruction era

The Radical Republicans were a major factor of the party from its inception in 1854 until the end of the Reconstruction Era in 1877. They strongly opposed slavery, were hard-line abolitionists, and later advocated equal rights for the freedmen and women. They were heavily influenced by religious ideals and evangelical Christianity. Radical Republicans pressed for abolition as a major war aim and they opposed the moderate Reconstruction plans of Abraham Lincoln as both too lenient on the Confederates and not going far enough to help former slaves. After the war's end and Lincoln's assassination, the Radicals clashed with Andrew Johnson over Reconstruction policy. Radicals led efforts to establish civil rights for former slaves and fully implement emancipation, pushing the Fourteenth Amendment for statutory protections through Congress. They opposed allowing ex-Confederate officers to retake political power in the Southern U.S., and emphasized liberty, equality, and the Fifteenth Amendment which provided voting rights for the freedmen. Many later became Stalwarts, who supported machine politics.

Moderate Republicans were known for their loyal support of President Abraham Lincoln's war policies and expressed antipathy towards the more militant stances advocated by the Radical Republicans. In contrast to Radicals, Moderate Republicans were less enthusiastic on the issue of Black suffrage even while embracing civil equality and the expansive federal authority observed throughout the American Civil War. They were also skeptical of the lenient, conciliatory Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson. Members of the Moderate Republicans comprised in part of previous Radical Republicans who became disenchanted with the alleged corruption of the latter faction. They generally opposed efforts by Radical Republicans to rebuild the Southern U.S. under an economically mobile, free-market system.

20th century

The 20th century saw the Republican party split into an Old Right and a moderate-liberal faction in the Northeast that eventually became known as Rockefeller Republicans. Opposition to Roosevelt's New Deal saw the formation of the conservative coalition. The 1950s saw fusionism of traditionalist and social conservatism and right-libertarianism, along with the rise of the First New Right to be followed in 1964 with a more populist Second New Right.

The rise of the Reagan coalition in the 1980s began what has been called the Reagan era. Reagan's rise displaced the liberal-moderate faction of the GOP and established Reagan-style conservatism as the prevailing ideological faction of the Party for the next thirty years, until the rise of the right-wing populist faction. Reagan conservatives generally supported policies that favored limited government, individualism, traditionalism, republicanism, and limited federal governmental power in relation to the states.

21st century

Republicans began the 21st century with the election of George W. Bush in the 2000 United States presidential election and saw the peak of a neoconservative faction that held significant influence over the initial American response to the September 11 attacks through the War on Terror. The election of Barack Obama saw the formation of the Tea Party movement in 2009 that coincided with a global rise in right-wing populist movements from the 2010s to 2020s. The global rise in right-wing populism has been attributed to factors including higher educational attainment, a decline in organized religion, backlash to globalization, and migrant crises.

Right-wing populism became an increasingly dominant ideological faction within the GOP throughout the 2010s and helped lead to the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Starting in the 1970s and accelerating in the 2000s, American right-wing interest groups invested heavily in external mobilization vehicles that led to the organizational weakening of the GOP establishment. The outsize role of conservative media, in particular Fox News, led to it being followed and trusted more by the Republican base over traditional party elites. The depletion of organizational capacity partly led to Trump's victory in the Republican primaries against the wishes of a very weak party establishment and traditional power brokers. Trump's election exacerbated internal schisms within the GOP, and saw the GOP move from a center coalition of moderates and conservatives to a solidly right-wing party hostile to liberal views and any deviations from the party line.

The Party has since faced intense factionalism. These factions are particularly apparent in the U.S. House of Representatives, where three Republican House leaders (Eric Cantor, John Boehner, and Kevin McCarthy) have been ousted since 2009. All three of the top Republican elected officials during Trump's first term (Vice President, Speaker of the House, and Senate Republican leader) were ousted or stepped down by Trump's second term.

The party's establishment conservative faction has lost all of its influence. Many conservatives critical of the Trumpist faction have also lost influence within the party, with no former Republican presidential or vice presidential nominees attending the 2024 Republican National Convention.

The victory of Trump in the 2024 presidential election saw the party increasingly shift towards Trumpism, and party criticism of Trump was described as being muted to non-existent. ''The New York Times'' described it as a "hostile takeover", and a victory of right-wing populism over the old conservative establishment. Polling found that 53% of Republican voters saw loyalty to Trump as central to their political identity and what it means to be a Republican.

During Trump's second presidency, Republican members of Congress were described by ''The New Republic'' magazine as submissive to Trump, letting him dictate policies without pushback.

Right-wing populists

Right-wing populism is the dominant political faction of the GOP. Sometimes referred to as the MAGA or " America First" movement, Republican populists have been described as consisting of a range of right-wing ideologies including but not limited to right-wing populism, national conservatism, neo-nationalism, mercantilism, and Trumpism. Trump has been described as one of many nationalist leaders, including Vladimir Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of China, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Narendra Modi of India, Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

The Republican Party's right-wing populist movements emerged in concurrence with a global increase in populist movements in the 2010s and 2020s, coupled with entrenchment and increased partisanship within the party since 2010. This included the rise of the Tea Party movement, which has also been described as far-right. This faction gained further dominance in the GOP during Joe Biden's presidency (2021-2025), including in the aftermath of the 2021-2023 inflation surge and Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Businessman Elon Musk, the wealthiest individual in the world, is a notable proponent of right-wing populism. Since acquiring Twitter in 2022, Musk has shared far-right misinformation and numerous conspiracy theories, and his views are described as right-wing to far-right. However, Musk has also been described as in conflict with the populist wing of the party on some issues, particularly legal immigration, government spending, free trade and relations with China.

According to political scientists Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins, the Republican Party's gains among white voters without college degrees and corresponding losses among white voters with college degrees contributed to the rise of right-wing populism. Until 2016, white voters with college degrees were a Republican-leaning group, but have since become a Democratic-leaning group. In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden became the first Democratic president to win a majority of white voters with college degrees (51–48%) since 1964, while Trump won white voters without college degrees 67–32%.

Right-wing populism has broad appeal across income and wealth, and is extremely polarized with respect to educational attainment among White voters. According to a 2017 study, agreement with Trump on social issues, rather than economic pressure, increased support for Trump among White voters without college degrees. White voters without college degrees who were economically struggling were more likely to vote for Democrats and support the Democratic party's economic agenda. Right-wing populism has appeal to Hispanic and Asian voters, but has little appeal to African American voters.

According to historian Gary Gerstle, Trumpism gained support in opposition to neoliberalism, including opposition to free trade, immigration, globalization, and internationalism. Trump won the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections by winning states in the Rust Belt that had suffered from population decline and deindustrialization. Compared to other Republicans, the populist faction is more likely to oppose legal immigration, free trade, neoconservatism, and environmental protection laws. It has been described as featuring anti-intellectualism and overtly racial appeals.

In international relations, populists support U.S. aid to Israel but not to Ukraine. They are generally supportive of improving relations with Russia, and favor an isolationist " America First" foreign policy agenda. This faction has been described as closer to that of Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey than Western Europe and the Anglosphere in terms of positions on international cooperation, support for an autocratic leadership style, and trust in institutions. This faction takes nationalist and irredentist views towards other countries in North America, advocating for U.S. territorial expansion to include Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal, the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, and potential military action on Mexican soil.

The party's far-right faction includes members of the Freedom Caucus. They generally reject compromise within the party and with the Democrats, and are willing to oust fellow Republican office holders they deem to be too moderate. According to sociologist Joe Feagin, political polarization by racially extremist Republicans as well as their increased attention from conservative media has perpetuated the near extinction of moderate Republicans and created legislative paralysis at numerous government levels in the last few decades.

Julia Azari, an associate professor of political science at Marquette University, noted that not all populist Republicans are public supporters of Donald Trump, and that some Republicans such as Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin endorse Trump policies while distancing themselves from Trump as a person. The continued dominance of Trump within the GOP has limited the success of this strategy. In 2024, Trump led a takeover of the Republican National Committee.

A ''FiveThirtyEight'' analysis found that of the 293 Republican members of Congress on January 20, 2017, just 121 (41%) were left on January 20, 2025. There were many reasons for the turnover, including retirements and deaths, losing general and primary elections, seeking other office, etc., but the extent of the change is still stark. There were 273 Republican members of Congress on January 20, 2025. Trump also changed his vice president and both houses of Congress had changed their top leadership.

Conservatives

Ronald Reagan's presidential election in 1980 established Reagan-style American conservatism as the dominant ideological faction of the Republican Party until the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Trump's 2016 election split both the GOP and larger conservative movement into Trumpist and anti-Trump factions, with the Trumpist faction winning. According to Nate Silver, in all three of Trump's runs for president income had no significant correlation with support for the Republican Party, that is voters across all incomes were closely divided between the two parties.

Demographically, the party has lost majority support from white voters with college degrees, while continuing to gain among voters without college degrees. Higher educational attainment is strongly correlated with higher income, as well as decreased support for Trump and social conservatism. In the 2024 presidential election, Democrat Kamala Harris won a majority of voters with annual incomes over $100,000 (51-47%) and $200,000 (52-46%). Harris was also very competitive among White voters making over $100,000 (49-50%) and $200,000 a year (48-51%).

A core economic belief of Reagan-style American conservatism that has been opposed by the right-wing populist faction is support for neoliberalism, including support for multilateralism and free trade while opposing tariffs. The right-wing populist faction has gained preeminence by appealing to White voters without college degrees who oppose globalization and free trade and instead support enacting tariffs, particularly in the Rust Belt states that were crucial to Donald Trump winning the presidency twice. Donald Trump and his base have supported enacting mercantilist economic policies intended to bring back the economic model that dominated the world from roughly the 16th to 19th centuries.

Conventional conservatism has been in decline across the Western world, not just the United States. In the European Union's multi-party system, right-wing populist parties and European conservative parties both received support from about a quarter of voters in the early 2020s, the highest share for right-wing populist parties since the end of World War II.

Trump's first vice president Mike Pence has since distanced himself from Trump and did not endorse him in the 2024 presidential election. Likewise, Trump decided not to have Pence as his vice president again, instead choosing JD Vance. Mitch McConnell, who previously served as Senate Republican leader for 18 years (2007–2025), stepped down as leader in 2025 and will retire in 2026 due to declining health and age, as well as disagreements with Trump. McConnell was described as the last powerful member of the Republican establishment, with his retirement marking its end.

The Roberts Court (2005–present), three of whose members were appointed by Trump as of 2024, has been described as the most conservative Supreme Court since the Vinson Court (1946-1953). It represents the last of the Republican establishment, with Chief Justice John Roberts the only Republican leader before Trump to have maintained office during Trump's second term.

The party still maintains long-time ideologically conservative positions on many issues. Traditional modern conservatives combine support for free-market economic policies with social conservatism and a hawkish approach to foreign policy. Other parts of the conservative movement are composed of fiscal conservatives and deficit hawks.

In foreign policy, neoconservatives are a small faction of the GOP that support an interventionist foreign policy and increased military spending. They previously held significant influence in the early 2000s in planning the initial response to the 9/11 attacks through the War on Terror. Since the election of Trump in 2016, neoconservatism has declined and non-interventionism and isolationism has grown among elected federal Republican officeholders.

Long-term shifts in conservative thinking following the elections of Trump have been described as a "new fusionism" of traditional conservative ideology and right-wing populist themes. These have resulted in shifts towards greater support for national conservatism, protectionism, cultural conservatism, a more Realism (international relations), realist foreign policy, a conspiracist sub-culture, a repudiation of neoconservatism, reduced efforts to roll back entitlement programs, and a disdain for traditional checks and balances. There are significant divisions within the party on the issues of abortion and LGBT rights.

Conservative caucuses include the Republican Study Committee and Freedom Caucus.

Christian right

Since the rise of the Christian right in the 1970s, the Republican Party has drawn significant support from evangelicals, Mormons, and Traditionalist Catholicism, traditionalist Catholic Church in the United States, Catholics, partly due to opposition to abortion after ''Roe v. Wade.'' The Christian right faction is characterized by strong support of Social conservatism, socially conservative and Christian nationalism, Christian nationalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to use the teachings of Christianity to influence law and public policy. Compared to other Republicans, the socially conservative Religious right in the United States, Christian right faction of the party is more likely to oppose LGBT rights in the United States, LGBT rights, Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, marijuana legalization, and support Abortion law in the United States by state, significantly restricting the legality of abortion.

The Christian right is strongest in the Bible Belt, which covers most of the Southern United States. Mike Pence, Donald Trump's vice president from 2017 to 2021, was a member of the Christian right. In October 2023, a member of the Christian right faction, Louisiana representative Mike Johnson, was elected the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Libertarians

The Republican Party has a right-libertarian, libertarian faction. This faction of the party is most popular in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Western United States. Libertarianism emerged from fusionism in the 1950s and 60s. Barry Goldwater had a substantial impact on the conservative-libertarian movement of the 1960s. Compared to other Republicans, they are more likely to favor the Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States, legalization of marijuana, LGBT rights in the United States, LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage, gun rights, oppose Surveillance, mass surveillance, and support reforms to current laws surrounding Civil forfeiture in the United States, civil asset forfeiture. Right-wing libertarians are Libertarian perspectives on abortion, strongly divided on the subject of abortion. Also see: Prominent libertarian conservatives within the Republican Party include Rand Paul, Thomas Massie, and Mike Lee.

During the 2024 United States elections, the Republican Party adopted pro-cryptocurrency policies, which were originally advocated by the libertarian wing of the party. As the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump addressed the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, pledging support for cryptocurrency, opposing central bank digital currency and expressing support for the commutation of Ross Ulbricht. Trump's 2024 campaign featured greater influence from technolibertarian elements, particularly Elon Musk, who was subsequently nominated to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

In June 2025, the libertarian wing strongly opposed Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act for contributing to the national debt, with Paul, Massie and Musk all publicly criticizing the legislation. In response, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller (political advisor), Stephen Miller, a figure associated with the populist wing of the party, criticized the libertarian faction, stating, "Certain libertarians in Congress, who are not MAGA, have their own agenda…and it’s not yours." Miller has been described by The Hill (newspaper), The Hill as advocating for a break with the libertarians within the party, based on his view that they do not sufficiently emphasize immigration reductions.

Moderates

Moderates in the Republican Party are an ideologically centrist group that predominantly come from the Northeastern United States, and are typically located in swing states or Red states and blue states, blue states. Moderate Republican voters are typically highly educated, affluent, fiscally conservative, socially moderate or liberal and often Never Trump movement, "Never Trump". While they sometimes share the economic views of other Republicans (i.e. tax cuts, lower taxes, deregulation, and welfare reform), moderate Republicans differ in that some are for affirmative action in the United States, affirmative action, LGBT rights in the United States, LGBT rights and same-sex marriage, legal access to and even public funding for abortion debate, abortion, Gun politics in the United States, gun control laws, more environmental regulation and action on climate change, fewer restrictions on immigration and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. In the 21st century, some former Republican moderates have switched to the Democratic Party, and the faction is in decline.

Notable moderate Republicans include Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo, Vermont governor Phil Scott, New Hampshire governor Kelly Ayotte, and former Maryland governor Larry Hogan.

Political positions

Economic policies

Tariffs in the second Trump administration, Enacting high tariffs on foreign imports is a core component of Donald Trump's fiscal agenda. Tariffs are taxes on foreign imports, mainly paid by domestic businesses, given that consumers generally do not import foreign goods directly. By raising tariffs to their highest levels since the Gilded Age, Trump enacted one of the largest tax increases on corporations by any Republican president. The Constitution's Import-Export Clause requires that only the federal government be allowed to collect tariff revenue from imports.

Republicans also believe that free markets and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity. Reduction in income taxes for those with higher incomes is a core component of Republicans' fiscal agenda.

Mercantilism

Donald Trump is a mercantilist and staunch proponent of enacting tariffs, that is taxes on imports from foreign countries paid by domestic importers, mostly corporations. Mercantilism is nationalist, and opposes United States balance of trade, trade deficits and free trade.

In 2025, Trump raised American tariff rates to the highest in the world, at the highest level since the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.

Donald Trump opposes Economic globalization, globalization, and his economic policies have been described as attempting to unravel the multilateral global economic order, including the power of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Taxes and trade

the Republican Party supports near-universal tariffs, but that has not always been the case. For example, during the last half of the 20th century, Republicans were strong proponents of free trade. The current Republican president, Donald Trump, has been a staunch proponent of enacting tariffs as a means of generating tax revenue, and has raised tariffs to their highest levels since World War II. According to an April 2025 Economist/YouGov poll, "Republican voters overwhelmingly support Trump's tariffs, while Democratic voters generally do not."

Trump has expressed his admiration for Republican president William McKinley's tariff policies. McKinley was the author of the Tariff Act of 1890, and both Trump and McKinley nicknamed themselves as a "Tariff Man".

At its inception, the Republican Party supported Tariffs in United States history, protective tariffs. Abraham Lincoln enacted tariffs during the Civil War.''Republican Party National Platform, 1860''
Reported from the Platform Committee by Judge Jessup of Pennsylvania and adopted unanimously by the Republican National Convention held at Chicago on May 17, 1860. Broadside (printing), Broadside printing by Chicago Tribune, ''The Chicago Press & Tribune'', May 1860 The great battle over the high Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act in 1910 caused a split in the party. The Reciprocal Tariff Act of 1934 marked a sharp departure from the era of protectionism in the United States. American duties on foreign products declined from an average of 46% in 1934 to 12% by 1962, which included the presidency of Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower. After World War II, the U.S. promoted the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in 1947, to minimize tariffs and other restrictions, and to liberalize trade among all capitalist countries.John H. Barton, Judith L. Goldstein, Timothy E. Josling, and Richard H. Steinberg, ''The Evolution of the Trade Regime: Politics, Law, and Economics of the GATT and the WTO'' (2008)
During the Ronald Reagan, Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, Republicans abandoned protectionist policies and came out against quotas and in favor of the GATT and the World Trade Organization policy of minimal economic barriers to global trade. Free trade with Canada came about as a result of the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement of 1987, which led in 1994 to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) based on Reagan's plan to enlarge the scope of the market for American firms to include Canada and Mexico. President Bill Clinton, with strong Republican support in 1993, pushed NAFTA through Congress over the vehement objection of labor unions.

The 2016 presidential election marked a return to supporting protectionism, beginning with First presidency of Donald Trump, Donald Trump's first presidency. In 2017, only 36% of Republicans agreed that free trade agreements are good for the United States, compared to 67% of Democrats. When asked if free trade has helped respondents specifically, the approval numbers for Democrats drop to 54%, however approval ratings among Republicans remain relatively unchanged at 34%.

Income tax cuts have been at the core of Republican economic policy since 1980. At the national level and state level, Republicans tend to pursue policies of tax cuts and deregulation. Modern Republicans advocate the theory of supply side economics, supply-side economics, which holds that lower tax rates increase economic growth. Many Republicans oppose progressive taxation, higher tax rates for higher earners, which they believe are unfairly targeted at those who create jobs and wealth. They believe private spending is more efficient than government spending. Republican lawmakers have also sought to limit funding for tax enforcement and Revenue service, tax collection.

As per a 2021 study that measured Republicans' congressional votes, the modern Republican Party's economic policy positions tend to align with business interests and the affluent.

Spending

Republicans advocate in favor of fiscal conservatism. Republican administrations have, since the late 1960s, supported sectors like national defense, veterans affairs, and infrastructure.

Entitlements

Republicans believe individuals should take responsibility for their own circumstances. They also believe the private sector is more effective in helping the poor through Charity (practice), charity than the government is through welfare programs and that social assistance programs often cause government dependency. As of November 2022, all 11 states that had not expanded Medicaid had Republican-controlled State legislature (United States), state legislatures. Scroll down for state by state info.

Labor unions and the minimum wage

The Republican Party is generally opposed to labor unions. Republicans believe corporations should be able to establish their own employment practices, including benefits and wages, with the free market deciding the price of work. Since the 1920s, Republicans have generally been opposed by Trade union, labor union organizations and members. At the national level, Republicans supported the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947, which gives workers the right not to participate in unions. Modern Republicans at the state level generally support various right-to-work laws. Most Republicans also oppose increases in the minimum wage.

Environmental policies

Historically, Progressivism in the United States, progressive leaders in the Republican Party supported environmental protection. Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was a prominent Conservation (ethic), conservationist whose policies eventually led to the creation of the National Park Service. While Republican President Richard Nixon was not an environmentalist, he signed legislation to create the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and had a comprehensive environmental program. However, this position has changed since the 1980s and the administration of President Ronald Reagan, who labeled environmental regulations a burden on the economy. Since then, Republicans have increasingly taken positions against environmental regulation, with many Republicans rejecting the scientific consensus on climate change. Republican voters are divided over the human causes of climate change and global warming. Since 2008, many members of the Republican Party have been criticized for being Anti-environmentalism, anti-environmentalist and promoting climate change denial in opposition to the general Scientific opinion on climate change, scientific consensus, making them unique even among other worldwide conservative parties.

In 2006, then-Governor of California, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger broke from Republican orthodoxy to sign several bills imposing caps on carbon emissions in California. Then-President George W. Bush opposed mandatory caps at a national level. Bush's decision not to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant was Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, challenged in the Supreme Court by 12 states, with the court ruling against the Bush administration in 2007. Bush also publicly opposed ratification of the Kyoto Protocols which sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions and thereby climate change mitigation, combat climate change; his position was heavily criticized by climate scientists.

The Republican Party rejects Emissions trading, cap-and-trade policy to limit carbon emissions. In the 2000s, Senator John McCain proposed bills (such as the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act) that would have regulated carbon emissions, but his position on climate change was unusual among high-ranking party members. Some Republican candidates have supported the development of alternative fuels in order to achieve U.S. energy independence, energy independence for the United States. Some Republicans support increased oil well, oil drilling in protected areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a position that has drawn criticism from activists.

Many Republicans during the presidency of Barack Obama opposed his administration's new environmental regulations, such as those on carbon emissions from coal. In particular, many Republicans supported building the Keystone Pipeline; this position was supported by businesses, but opposed by indigenous peoples' groups and environmental activists.

According to the Center for American Progress, a non-profit liberal advocacy group, more than 55% of congressional Republicans were climate change denial, climate change deniers in 2014. PolitiFact in May 2014 found "relatively few Republican members of Congress ... accept the prevailing scientific conclusion that global warming is both real and man-made." The group found eight members who acknowledged it, although the group acknowledged there could be more and that not all members of Congress have taken a stance on the issue.

From 2008 to 2017, the Republican Party went from "debating how to combat human-caused climate change to arguing that it does not exist", according to ''The New York Times''. In January 2015, the Republican-led U.S. Senate voted 98–1 to pass a resolution acknowledging that "climate change is real and is not a hoax"; however, an amendment stating that "human activity significantly contributes to climate change" was supported by only five Republican senators.

Health care

The party opposes a single-payer health care system, describing it as socialized medicine. It also opposes the Affordable Care Act and expansions of Medicaid. Historically, there have been diverse and overlapping views within both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party on the role of government in health care, but the two parties became highly polarized on the topic during 2008–2009 and onwards.

Both Republicans and Democrats made various proposals to establish federally funded aged health insurance prior to the bipartisan effort to establish Medicare (United States), Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. No Republican member of Congress voted for the Affordable Care Act in 2009, and after it passed, the party made frequent attempts to repeal it. At the state level, the party has tended to adopt a position against Medicaid expansion.

By 2020, Republican officials have increasingly adopted anti-vaccine activism and policy.

Foreign policy

The Republican Party has a persistent history of skepticism and opposition to multilateralism in American foreign policy. Neoconservatism, which supports unilateralism and emphasizes the use of force and hawkishness in American foreign policy, has had some influence in all Republican presidential administrations since Ronald Reagan's. Some, including Paleoconservatism, paleoconservatives, call for non-interventionism and an isolationist " America First" foreign policy agenda. This faction gained strength starting in 2016 with the rise of Donald Trump, demanding that the United States reset its previous Interventionism (politics), interventionist foreign policy and encourage allies and partners to take greater responsibility for their own defense.

Israel

During the 1940s, Republicans predominantly opposed the cause of an independent Jewish state due to the influence of Conservatism in the United States, conservatives of the Old Right. The rise of neoconservatism saw the Republican Party become predominantly pro-Israel by the 1990s and 2000s, although notable anti-Israel sentiment persisted through Paleoconservatism, paleoconservative figures such as Pat Buchanan. As president, Donald Trump generally supported Israel during most of his term, but became increasingly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu towards the end of it. According to ''I24NEWS (Israeli TV channel), i24NEWS'', the 2020s have seen declining support for Israel among nationalist Republicans, led by individuals such as Tucker Carlson. Nevertheless, the 2024 Republican Party platform reaffirmed the party would "stand with Israel" and called for the deportation of "pro-Hamas radicals", while expressing a desire for peace in the Middle East. Although the Republican Party has often positioned itself as an opponent of antisemitism and denounced Democrats as insufficiently supportive of Israel, many members of the Christian right support Israel primarily due to Christian Zionism, theological beliefs about the centrality of Israel to the Second Coming, Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the conversion or Hell in Christianity, damnation of Jews and other non-Christians.

Taiwan

In the party's 2016 platform, its stance on Taiwan is: "We oppose any unilateral steps by either side to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Straits on the principle that all issues regarding the island's future must be resolved peacefully, through dialogue, and be agreeable to the people of Taiwan." In addition, if "China were to violate those principles, the United States, in accord with the Taiwan Relations Act, will help Taiwan defend itself".

War on terror

Since the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, neoconservatives in the party have supported the War on Terror, including the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. The Presidency of George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration took the position that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to unlawful combatants, while other prominent Republicans, such as Ted Cruz, strongly oppose the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, which they view as torture. In the 2020s, Trumpist Republicans such as Matt Gaetz supported reducing U.S. military presence abroad and ending American military intervention in Somalia (2007–present), intervention in countries such as Somalia.

Europe, Russia and Ukraine

The 2016 Republican platform eliminated references to giving weapons to Ukraine in its fight with Russia and Separatist forces of the war in Donbass, rebel forces; the removal of this language reportedly resulted from intervention from staffers to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. However, the Trump administration approved a new sale of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine in 2017. Republicans generally question European NATO members' alleged insufficient investment in defense funding, and some are dissatisfied with U.S. aid to Ukraine. Some Republican members of the U.S. Congress support foreign aid to Israel but not to Ukraine, and have been described by U.S. media as pro-Russian.

Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several prominent Republicans criticized some colleagues and conservative media outlets for echoing Russian propaganda. Liz Cheney, formerly the third-ranking House Republican, said "a Vladimir Putin, Putin wing of the Republican Party" had emerged. Former vice president Mike Pence said, "There is no room in the Republican Party for apologists for Putin." House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul asserted that Russian propaganda had "infected a good chunk of my party's base." House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Turner confirmed McCaul's assessment, asserting that some propaganda coming directly from Russia could be heard on the House floor. Republican senator Thom Tillis characterized the influential conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who frequently expresses pro-Russia sentiments, as Russia's "useful idiot".

In April 2024, a majority of Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against a military aid package to Ukraine. Both Trump and Senator JD Vance, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee and vice presidential nominee respectively, have been vocal critics of military aid to Ukraine and advocates of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The 2024 Republican Party platform did not mention Russia or Ukraine, but stated the party's objectives to "prevent World War III" and "restore peace to Europe".

In February 2025, during the 2025 Trump–Zelenskyy meeting, Trump–Zelenskyy meeting, Trump and Vance hostilely berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Foreign relations and aid

In a 2014 poll, 59% of Republicans favored doing less abroad and focusing on the country's own problems instead.

Republicans have frequently advocated for restricting United States foreign aid, foreign aid as a means of asserting the national security and immigration interests of the United States.

A survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs shows that "Trump Republicans seem to prefer a US role that is more independent, less cooperative, and more inclined to use military force to deal with the threats they see as the most pressing".

Social issues

The Republican Party is generally associated with social conservative policies, although it does have dissenting centrist and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian factions. The social conservatives support laws that uphold their traditional values, such as opposition to same-sex marriage in the United States, opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion, and marijuana. The Republican Party's positions on social and cultural issues are in part a reflection of the influential role that the Christian right has had in the party since the 1970s. Most conservative Republicans also oppose gun control, affirmative action, and illegal immigration.

Abortion and embryonic stem cell research

The Republican position on Abortion in the United States, abortion has changed significantly over time. During the 1960s and early 1970s, opposition to abortion was concentrated among members of the political left and the Democratic Party; most liberal Catholics—which tended to vote for the Democratic Party—opposed expanding abortion access while most conservative evangelical Protestants supported it.

During this period, Republicans generally favored legalized abortion more than Democrats, although significant heterogeneity could be found within both parties. Leading Republican political figures, including Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, took pro-choice positions until the early 1980s. However, starting at this point, both George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan described themselves as pro-life during their presidencies.

In the 21st century, both George W. Bush and Donald Trump described themselves as "Anti-abortion movements, pro-life" during their terms. However, Trump stated that he supported the legality and ethics of abortion before his candidacy in 2015.

Summarizing the rapid shift in the Republican and Democratic positions on abortion, Sue Halpern writes:

...in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many Republicans were behind efforts to liberalize and even decriminalize abortion; theirs was the party of reproductive choice, while Democrats, with their large Catholic constituency, were the opposition. Republican governor Ronald Reagan signed the California Therapeutic Abortion Act, one of the most liberal abortion laws in the country, in 1967, legalizing abortion for women whose mental or physical health would be impaired by pregnancy, or whose pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. The same year, the Republican strongholds of North Carolina and Colorado made it easier for women to obtain abortions. New York, under Governor Nelson Rockefeller, a Republican, eliminated all restrictions on women seeking to terminate pregnancies up to twenty-four weeks gestation.... Richard Nixon, Barry Goldwater, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush were all pro-choice, and they were not party outliers. In 1972, a Gallup poll found that 68 percent of Republicans believed abortion to be a private matter between a woman and her doctor. The government, they said, should not be involved...

Since the 1980s, opposition to abortion has become strongest in the party among Traditionalist Catholicism, traditionalist Catholics and conservative Protestant evangelicals. Initially, evangelicals were relatively indifferent to the cause of abortion and overwhelmingly viewed it as a concern that was Sectarianism, sectarian and Catholic Church, Catholic. Historian Randall Balmer notes that Billy Graham's ''Christianity Today'' published in 1968 a statement by theologian Bruce Waltke that: "God does not regard the fetus as a soul, no matter how far gestation has progressed." Typical of the time, ''Christianity Today'' "refused to characterize abortion as sinful" and cited "individual health, family welfare, and social responsibility" as "justifications for ending a pregnancy." Similar beliefs were held among conservative figures in the Southern Baptist Convention, including W. A. Criswell, who is partially credited with starting the "Southern Baptist Convention conservative resurgence, conservative resurgence" within the organization, who stated: "I have always felt that it was only after a child was born and had a life separate from its mother that it became an individual person and it has always, therefore, seemed to me that what is best for the mother and for the future should be allowed." Balmer argues that evangelical American Christianity being inherently tied to opposition to abortion is a relatively new occurrence. After the late 1970s, he writes, opinion against abortion among evangelicals rapidly shifted in favor of its prohibition.

Today, opinion polls show that Republican voters are heavily divided on the legality of abortion, although vast majority of the party's national and state candidates are anti-abortion and oppose elective abortion on religious or moral grounds. While many advocate exceptions in the case of incest, rape or the mother's life being at risk, in 2012 the party approved a platform advocating banning abortions without exception. There were not highly polarized differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party prior to the ''Roe v. Wade'' 1973 Supreme Court ruling (which made prohibitions on abortion rights unconstitutional), but after the Supreme Court ruling, opposition to abortion became an increasingly key national platform for the Republican Party. As a result, Evangelicals gravitated towards the Republican Party. Most Republicans oppose government funding for abortion providers, notably Planned Parenthood. This includes support for the Hyde Amendment.

Until its dissolution in 2018, Republican Majority for Choice, an abortion rights PAC, advocated for amending the GOP platform to include pro-abortion rights members.

The Republican Party has pursued policies at the national and state-level to restrict embryonic stem cell research beyond the original lines because it involves the destruction of human embryos.

After Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the overturning of ''Roe v. Wade'' in 2022, a majority of Republican-controlled states Abortion law in the United States by state, passed near-total bans on abortion, rendering it largely illegal throughout much of the United States.

Affirmative action

Republicans generally oppose affirmative action, often describing it as a "racial quota, quota system" and believing that it is not meritocratic and is counter-productive socially by only further promoting discrimination. According to a 2023 ABC poll, a majority of Americans (52%) and 75% of Republicans supported the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard prohibiting race as a factor in college admissions, compared to only 26% of Democrats.

The 2012 Republican national platform stated, "We support efforts to help low-income individuals get a fair chance based on their potential and individual merit; but we reject preferences, quotas, and set-asides, as the best or sole methods through which fairness can be achieved, whether in government, education or corporate boardrooms...Merit, ability, aptitude, and results should be the factors that determine advancement in our society."

Gun ownership

Republicans generally support Gun politics in the United States, gun ownership rights and oppose Gun law in the United States, laws regulating guns. According to a 2023 Pew Research Center poll, 45% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents personally own firearms, compared to 32% for the general public and 20% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.

The National Rifle Association of America, a advocacy group, special interest group in support of gun ownership, has consistently aligned itself with the Republican Party. Following gun control measures under the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Clinton administration, such as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Republicans allied with the NRA during the Republican Revolution in 1994 United States elections, 1994. Since then, the NRA has consistently backed Republican candidates and contributed financial support.

In contrast, George H. W. Bush, formerly a lifelong NRA member, was highly critical of the organization following their response to the Oklahoma City bombing authored by CEO Wayne LaPierre, and publicly resigned in protest.

Criminal justice

The Republican Party has generally promoted strict anti-crime policies, such as mandatory minimum sentences and the capital punishment, death penalty. In the 2010s, however, prominent Republicans demonstrated some interest in Criminal justice reform in the United States, criminal justice reform designed to combat Incarceration in the United States, mass incarceration, with President Trump signing the First Step Act, which expanded good behavior credits for perpetrators of most nonviolent crimes and required the U.S. Attorney General to develop a system to assess the recidivism risk of all federal prisoners. By 2024, however, the Republican Party and its leaders had largely left behind its prior support for reform of the justice system.
Republican elected officials have historically supported the War on Drugs. They generally oppose legalization of drugs, legalization or decriminalization of drugs such as Cannabis in the United States, marijuana.

Opposition to the legalization of marijuana has softened significantly over time among Republican voters and politicians. A 2021 Quinnipiac University, ''Quinnipiac'' poll found that 62% of Republicans supported the legalization of recreational marijuana use and that net support for the position was +30 points. Some Republican-controlled states have legalized medical and recreational marijuana in recent years. In September 2024, then-candidate Donald Trump endorsed the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Immigration

The Republican Party has taken widely varying views on immigration throughout its history, but have generally and traditionally taken an anti-immigration and Nativism (politics), nativist stance compared to the opposition. In the period between 1850 and 1870, the Republican Party was more opposed to immigration than the Democrats. The GOP's opposition was, in part, caused by its reliance on the support of anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant parties such as the Know Nothing, Know-Nothings. In the decades following the Civil War, especially in the 1880s, the Republican Party lessened its stance on immigration, as it represented the manufacturers in the northeast (who wanted additional labor); although during this period, the Democratic Party still came to be seen as the party of both American and foreign labor, and many religious Republicans Romanism, used anti-Irish and pro-Christian sentiments. Starting in the early 1930s, the parties focused on Emigration from Mexico, Mexican emigration, as the Democrats proposed a softer stance on Mexican immigration during the Great Depression and New Deal, rather than Republicans under Herbert Hoover.

In 2006, the Republican-led Senate passed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, comprehensive immigration reform that would eventually have allowed millions of illegal immigrants to become citizens. Despite the support of Republican President George W. Bush, the House of Representatives (also led by Republicans) did not advance the bill. After Republican Mitt Romney was defeated in the 2012 presidential election, particularly due to a lack of support among Latinos, several Republicans advocated a friendlier approach to immigrants that would allow for more migrant workers and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 passed the Senate 68–32, but was not brought to a vote in the House and died in the 113th Congress. In a 2013 poll, 60% of Republicans supported the pathway to citizenship concept.

In 2016, Donald Trump proposed to build Mexico–United States border wall, a wall along the southern border of the United States. Trump Immigration policy of the first Donald Trump administration, immigration policies during his administration included a Executive Order 13769, travel ban from multiple Muslim-majority countries, a Remain in Mexico policy for asylum-seekers, Trump administration family separation policy, a controversial family separation policy, and attempting to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA. During the tenure of Democratic President Joe Biden, the Republican Party has continued to take a hardline stance against illegal immigration. The Party largely opposes immigration reform, although there are widely differing views on immigration within the Party. The Party's proposed 2024 platform was opposed to immigration, and called for the mass deportation of all illegal immigrants in the United States. A 2024 Pew Research Center poll found that 88% of Donald Trump's supporters favored mass deportation of all illegal immigrants, compared to 27% of Kamala Harris supporters.

LGBT issues

Similar to the Democratic Party, the Republican position on LGBT rights in the United States, LGBT rights has changed significantly over time, with continuously increasing support among both parties on the issue. The Log Cabin Republicans is a group within the Republican Party that represents LGBT conservatism, LGBT conservatives and allies and advocates for LGBT rights.

From the early-2000s to the mid-2010s, Republicans opposed same-sex marriage, while being divided on the issue of civil unions and domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. During the 2004 election, George W. Bush campaigned prominently on a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage; many believe it helped Bush win re-election. In both 108th United States Congress, 2004 and 109th United States Congress, 2006, President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and House Majority Leader John Boehner promoted the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment which would legally restrict the definition of marriage to Heterosexuality, heterosexual couples. In both attempts, the amendment failed to secure enough votes to invoke cloture and thus ultimately was never passed. As more states legalized same-sex marriage in the 2010s, Republicans increasingly supported allowing each state to decide its own marriage policy. As of 2014, most state GOP platforms expressed opposition to same-sex marriage. The 2016 2016 Republican National Convention, GOP Platform defined marriage as "natural marriage, the union of one man and one woman," and condemned the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges, ruling legalizing same-sex marriages. The 2020 platform, which reused the 2016 platform, retained the statements against same-sex marriage.

Following his election as president in 2016, Donald Trump stated that he had no objection to same-sex marriage or to the Supreme Court decision in ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', but had previously promised to consider appointing a Supreme Court justice to roll back the constitutional right. In office, Trump was the first sitting Republican president to recognize Gay pride, LGBT Pride Month. Conversely, the Trump administration banned transgender individuals from service in the United States military and rolled back other protections for transgender people which had been enacted during the previous Democratic presidency. However, other Republicans, such as Vivek Ramaswamy, do not support such a ban.

The Republican Party platform previously opposed the Sexual orientation and the United States military, inclusion of gay people in the military and opposed adding sexual orientation to the list of protected classes since 1992. The Republican Party opposed the inclusion of sexual preference in anti-discrimination statutes from 1992 to 2004. The 2008 and 2012 Republican Party platform supported anti-discrimination statutes based on sex, race, age, religion, creed, disability, or national origin, but both platforms were silent on sexual orientation and gender identity. The 2016 platform was opposed to sex discrimination statutes that included the phrase "sexual orientation". The same 2016 platform rejected ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', and was also used for the party's 2020 platform. In the early 2020s, numerous Republican-led states 2020s anti-LGBT movement in the United States, proposed or passed laws that have been described as anti-trans by critics, as well as laws limiting or banning Drag panic, public performances of drag shows, and teaching schoolchildren about LGBT topics.

On November 6, 2021, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel announced the creation of the "RNC Pride Coalition", in partnership with the Log Cabin Republicans, to promote outreach to LGBTQ voters. However, after the announcement, McDaniel apologized for not having communicated the announcement in advance and emphasized that the new outreach program did not alter the 2016 GOP Platform.

As of 2023, a majority of Republican voters support Same-sex marriage in the United States, same-sex marriage. According to ''FiveThirtyEight'', as of 2022, Republican voters are consistently more open to same-sex marriage than their representatives. The party platform approved at the 2024 Republican National Convention no longer states that marriage should be between "one man and one woman", though it did oppose the inclusion of Trans woman, transgender women in women's sports and teaching about LGBT topics in schools. According to a 2023 ''YouGov'' poll, Republicans are slightly more likely to oppose Intersex medical interventions, intersex medical alterations than Democrats.

In November 2024, Trump nominated Scott Bessent for United States Secretary of the Treasury, United States secretary of the treasury. If confirmed by the United States Senate, he will be the List of first openly LGBTQ politicians in the United States, second openly gay man to serve in the Cabinet of the United States (after Pete Buttigieg) and the List of first openly LGBTQ politicians in the United States, fourth openly gay man to serve in a Cabinet of the United States#Cabinet-level officials, cabinet-level office (after Demetrios Marantis, Richard Grenell and Buttigieg). As the secretary of the treasury is United States presidential line of succession#Current order of succession, fifth in the United States presidential line of succession, he will become the List of first openly LGBTQ politicians in the United States, highest-ranking openly LGBT person in American history.

Voting rights

Virtually all restrictions on voting have in recent years been implemented by Republicans. Republicans, mainly at the state level, argue that the restrictions (such as the purging of Electoral roll, voter rolls, limiting voting locations, and limiting early voting, early and Postal voting, mail-in voting) are vital to prevent voter fraud, saying that voter fraud is an underestimated issue in elections. Polling has found majority support for early voting, automatic voter registration and Voter identification laws in the United States, voter ID laws among the general population.

In defending their restrictions to voting rights, Republicans have made false and exaggerated claims about the extent of voter fraud in the United States; all existing research indicates that it is extremely rare, and civil and voting rights organizations often accuse Republicans of enacting restrictions to influence elections in the party's favor. Many laws or regulations restricting voting enacted by Republicans have been successfully challenged in court, with court rulings striking down such regulations and accusing Republicans of establishing them with partisan purpose.

After the Supreme Court decision in ''Shelby County v. Holder'' rolled back aspects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Republicans introduced cuts to early voting, purges of voter rolls and imposition of strict voter ID laws. The 2016 Republican platform advocated proof of citizenship as a prerequisite for registering to vote and photo ID as a prerequisite when voting.

After Donald Trump and his Republican reactions to Donald Trump's claims of 2020 election fraud, Republican allies made false claims of fraud during the 2020 presidential election, Republicans launched a nationwide effort to Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election, impose tighter election laws at the state level. Such bills are centered around limiting mail-in voting, strengthening voter ID laws, shortening early voting, eliminating Voter registration in the United States#Automatic, automatic and Voter registration in the United States#Election Day / same-day, same-day voter registration, curbing the use of ballot drop boxes, and allowing for increased purging of voter rolls. Republicans in at least eight states have also introduced bills that would give lawmakers greater power over election administration, after they were unsuccessful in their attempts to overturn election results in swing states won by Biden.

Supporters of the bills argue they would improve election security and reverse temporary changes enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic; they point to false claims of significant election fraud, as well as the substantial public distrust of the integrity of the 2020 election those claims have fostered, as justification. Political analysts say that the efforts amount to voter suppression, are intended to advantage Republicans by reducing the number of people who vote, and would disproportionately affect Race and ethnicity in the United States, minority voters.

Composition and demographics

According to a 2025 Gallup poll, 46% of Americans identify or lean towards Republicans, and 45% identify or lean towards Democrats. Republicans have held an edge since 2022, while the Democratic Party had previously held an overall edge in party identification from 1992 to 2021, since Gallup began polling on the issue in 1991. In 2016, ''The New York Times'' stated that the party was strongest in the Southern United States, South, most of the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Mountain States, and Alaska.

The Republican party's core voting demographics are White voters without college degrees and White Southerners. Racial polarization is extremely high in the Southern United States, with White Southerners almost entirely voting for the Republican Party and Black Southerners almost entirely voting for the Democratic Party.

As of 2024, the Republican Party has support from a majority of White Americans, White voters, and increasingly among Hispanics and Asian people, Asians.

A majority of Working class in the United States, working-class, Urban–rural political divide, rural, Man, men, individuals without college degrees, and Developing country, lower income voters vote for the party. Traditionalist religious voters, including Evangelicalism, Evangelicals Latter Day Saint movement, Latter-Day Saints, Muslims, and Catholic Church in the United States, Catholic voters lean towards the Republicans. The party has made significant gains among the Working class, white working class, Asian Americans, Asians, and Hispanics,.

Republicans have lost support among Upper middle class in the United States, upper middle class and Postgraduate education, college-educated whites. In 2024, Trump only narrowly won White voters making $100,000 to $199,999 (50-49%), over $200,000 (51-48%), and White men with college degrees (50-48%), all on par with Trump winning the popular vote 50-48%.

Income

Until 2016, higher income was strongly correlated to voting for the Republican Party among the general electorate. However, in all three of Trump's elections in 2016, 2020, and 2024, the previous correlation between higher incomes and voting for the Republican Party was largely eliminated among the electorate as a whole. For White voters, instead higher educational attainment was strongly correlated with higher support for the Democratic Party. According to a 2024 Pew Research Center poll, homeowners are slightly more likely to be Republicans (51-45%), while renters are much more likely to be Democrats (64-32%).

In the 2024 presidential election, Trump did better among lower-income voters than high-income voters, the first time ever for the Republican nominee in modern American political history. Trump lost voters making annual incomes over $100,000 (47-51%) and $200,000 (46-52%) to Democrat Kamala Harris, with voters making over $200,000 a year being Trump's weakest income demographic. Trump won voters making less than $100,000 (51-47%) and $50,000 (50-48%), though Trump did lose voters making less than $30,000 (46-50%).

Trump won some of the List of lowest-income counties in the United States, lowest-income counties, mainly majority-White counties in Appalachia. Most of the lowest-income counties are List of majority-Black counties in the United States, majority-Black counties in the Black Belt in the American South, Southern Black Belt, which Trump lost.

Men without college degrees, particularly Blue-collar worker, blue-collar men, are Donald Trump's strongest demographic. Per exit polls, Trump won White men without college degrees (69-29%) and around half of Hispanic men in the 2024 presidential election.

Region

Some of the oldest Republican strongholds in the country are in the Southern United States, particularly majority-White Southern Unionist, Unionist counties in Appalachia.Oliver Perry Temple, ''East Tennessee and the Civil War'' (Cincinnati: R. Clarke, 1972), pp. 15–17, 547, 556–8. The Republican Party gradually gained power in the Southern United States since 1964. Although Richard Nixon carried 49 states in 1972 United States presidential election, 1972, including every Southern state, the Republican Party remained quite weak at the local and state levels across the entire South for decades. Republicans first won a majority of U.S. House seats in the South in the 1994 United States elections, 1994 "Republican Revolution", and only began to dominate the South after the 2010 United States elections, 2010 elections.

Since the 2010s, White Southerners are the Republican Party's strongest racial demographic, in some Deep South states voting nearly as Republican as African Americans vote Democratic. This is partially attributable to religiosity, with White evangelical Christianity, evangelical Christians in the Bible Belt, which covers most of the South, being the Republican Party's strongest religious demographic. In particular, in 2024 Trump won every state with a significant presence in the Bible Belt except Virginia, because Northern Virginia is part of the heavily Democratic Washington metropolitan area.

White Southerners with college degrees remain strongly Republican. In 2024, Trump won White Southerners 67-32%, including White Southerners with college degrees 57-41%. Trump won White evangelicals 82-17%, including White evangelicals with college degrees 75-23%.

Age

The Republican Party does best with middle age and Old age, older voters, particularly voters over the age of 50. In the 2024 presidential election, Trump lost voters aged 18–29 (43-54%) and 30-39 (45-51%), tied with voters aged 40–49 (49-49%), did best among voters aged 50–64 (54-44%), and narrowly won voters 65 and older (50-49%). This also holds when controlling for race.
*Trump tied among Whites aged 18–29 (49-49%), and won Whites aged 30–44 (54-44%), 45-64 (61-37%), and 65 and older (56-43%).
*There was little difference among Black voters, with Trump losing Black voters aged 18–29 (16-83%), 30-44 (15-83%), 45-64 (14-84%), and particularly Black voters 65 and older (6-93%).
*Trump narrowly lost Hispanic voters aged 18–29 (45-51%) and 30-44 (45-52%), narrowly won Hispanic voters aged 45–64 (51-48%), and lost Hispanic voters 65 and older (58-41%).

Gender

Since 1980, a "gender gap" has seen stronger support for the Republican Party among men than among women. Unmarried and divorced women were far more likely to vote for Democrat John Kerry than for Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election."Unmarried Women in the 2004 Presidential Election"
(PDF). Report by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, January 2005. p. 3: "The marriage gap is one of the most important cleavages in electoral politics. Unmarried women voted for Kerry by a 25-point margin (62 to 37 percent), while married women voted for President Bush by an 11-point margin (55 percent to 44 percent). Indeed, the 25-point margin Kerry posted among unmarried women represented one of the high water marks for the Senator among all demographic groups." Exit polls from the 2012 elections revealed a continued weakness among unmarried women for the GOP, a large and growing portion of the electorate. Although women supported Obama over Mitt Romney by a margin of 55–44% in 2012, Romney prevailed amongst married women, 53–46%. Obama won unmarried women 67–31%.

However, according to a December 2019 study, "White women are the only group of female voters who support Republican Party candidates for president. They have done so by a majority in all but 2 of the last 18 elections".

Education

In all three of Donald Trump's elections in 2016, 2020, and 2024, for White voters lower educational attainment was strongly correlated with higher support for Trump. When controlling for educational attainment among White voters, there still remain large variations by state and region. In particular, college-educated White Southerners remain strongly Republican.

The Republican Party has steadily increased the percentage of votes it receives from white voters without college degrees since the 1970s, while the educational attainment in the United States, educational attainment of the United States has steadily increased. White voters without college degrees are more likely to live in rural areas.

Voters with college degrees as a whole were a Republican-voting group until the 1990s. Despite losing in a landslide, Republican nominee Barry Goldwater nearly won a majority of voters with college degrees 48–52% in 1964. Republican president Gerald Ford won voters with college degrees 55-43% in 1976 United States presidential election, 1976, while narrowly losing to Jimmy Carter. Since the 1990s, a majority of voters with graduate degrees have consistently voted for the Democratic Party. For example, George W. Bush won voters with just a bachelor's degree 52-46% while losing voters with a graduate degree 44–55%, while winning re-election in 2004 United States presidential election, 2004.

Until 2016, white voters with college degrees were a Republican-leaning group. Despite Obama's decisive 2008 United States presidential election, 2008 victory, Republican nominee John McCain won a majority of white voters with college degrees 51-47% and white voters without college degrees 58-40%. In 2012 United States presidential election, 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney won white voters with college degrees 56-42%, though Obama won voters with college degrees as a whole 50-48% while winning re-election. Since the 2010s, white voters with college degrees have been increasingly voting for the Democratic Party. Following the 2016 presidential election, exit polls indicated that "Donald Trump attracted a large share of the vote from Whites without a college degree, receiving 72 percent of the White non-college male vote and 62 percent of the White non-college female vote." Overall, 52% of voters with college degrees voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, while 52% of voters without college degrees voted for Trump.

In the 2020 United States presidential election, Donald Trump won white voters without college degrees 67-32%, while losing white voters with a college degree 48–51%. In the 2024 United States presidential election, Trump maintained his margins among white voters without college degrees 66-32% and lost white voters with a college degree 45-52%. In 2024, Trump won 56% of voters without a college degree, compared to 42% of voters with a college degree.

Ethnicity

Republicans have consistently won the White vote in every presidential election after the 1964 United States presidential election, 1964 presidential election. There exist large variations among White voters by region and state. In particular, Republicans lose White voters in the Northeastern United States, Northeast, parts of the Upper Midwest and West Coast of the United States, West Coast. Republicans are strongest with White Southerners, particularly White evangelical Christianity, evangelical Christians in the Bible Belt, which covers most of the Southern United States. White Southerners with college degrees remain strongly Republican. In some Deep South states, Whites vote nearly as Republican as African Americans vote Democratic. In the 2024 presidential election, Trump won White Southerners 67-32%.

Republicans have been winning under 15% of the African American vote in national elections since 1980. Until the New Deal of the 1930s, Black people supported the Republican Party by large margins.In the South, they were often not allowed to vote, but still received some Federal patronage appointments from the Republicans Black delegates were a sizable share of southern delegates to the national Republican convention from Reconstruction until the start of the 20th century when their share began to decline. Black people shifted in large margins to the Democratic Party in the 1930s, when Black politicians such as Arthur Mitchell and William Dawson supported the New Deal because it would better serve the interest of Black Americans. Black voters would become one of the core components of the New Deal coalition. In the South, after the Voting Rights Act to prohibit racial discrimination in elections was passed by a bipartisan coalition in 1965, Black people were able to vote again and ever since have formed a significant portion (20–50%) of the Democratic vote in that region.Harvard Sitkoff, ''A New Deal for Blacks'' (1978).

In the 2010 elections, two African American Republicans, Tim Scott and Allen West (politician), Allen West, were elected to the House of Representatives. As of January 2023, there are four African-American Republicans in the House of Representatives and one African American Republican in the United States Senate. In recent decades, Republicans have been moderately successful in gaining support from Hispanic and Asian American voters. George W. Bush, who campaigned energetically for Hispanic votes, received 35% of their vote in 2000 and 44% in 2004. The party's strong anti-communist stance has made it popular among some minority groups from current and former Communist states, in particular Cuban Americans, Korean Americans, Chinese Americans and Vietnamese Americans. The 2007 election of Bobby Jindal as Governor of Louisiana was hailed as pathbreaking. Jindal became the first elected minority governor in Louisiana and the first state governor of Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin, Indian descent.

Republicans have gained support among racial and ethnic minorities, particularly among those who are working class, Hispanic or Latino, or Asian American since the 2010s. According to John Avlon, in 2013, the Republican party was more ethnically diverse at the statewide elected official level than the Democratic Party was; GOP statewide elected officials included Latino Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and African-American U.S. senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.

In the 2008 United States presidential election, 2008 presidential election, Republican presidential candidate John McCain won 55% of White votes, 35% of Asian votes, 31% of Hispanic votes and 4% of African American votes."Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: Most Diverse in U.S. History"
. Pew Research Center. April 30, 2009. In 2012, 88% of Romney voters were White while 56% of Obama voters were White. In the 2024 United States presidential election, 2024 presidential election, Trump won 57% of White voters, 46% of Hispanic voters, 39% of Asian voters, and 13% of African American voters.

Donald Trump won the popular vote in the 2024 United States presidential election as White voters without college degrees still strongly backed him, in addition to the gains made with Asian and Latino voters in comparison to the 2020 United States presidential election. As a whole, 84% of Trump voters were White.

Religious communities

Religion has always played a major role for both parties, but in the course of a century, the parties' religious compositions have changed. Religion was a major dividing line between the parties before 1960 United States presidential election, 1960, with Catholics, Jews, and southern Protestants heavily Democratic and northeastern Protestants heavily Republican. Most of the old differences faded away after the realignment of the 1970s and 1980s that undercut the New Deal coalition. Since 1980, a large majority of Evangelicalism, evangelicals has voted Republican; 70–80% voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004 and 70% for Republican House candidates in United States general elections, 2006, 2006.

Members of the Mormon faith had a mixed relationship with Donald Trump during his tenure, despite 67% of them voting for him in 2016 United States presidential election, 2016 and 56% of them supporting his presidency in 2018 United States elections, 2018, disapproving of his personal behavior such as that shown during the Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape, ''Access Hollywood'' controversy. In the 2020 United States presidential election in Utah, Trump won the state by about 21.5%, by a margin more than 20% lower compared to Mitt Romney (who is Mormon) in 2012 United States presidential election in Utah, 2012 and George W. Bush in 2004 United States presidential election in Utah, 2004. Their opinion on Trump had not affected their party affiliation, however, as 76% of Mormons in 2018 expressed preference for generic Republican congressional candidates. Similarly, while Trump again won majority-Mormon 2024 United States presidential election in Utah, Utah in 2024, the state had one of the smallest swings to the right and Trump's 22% margin was well below that of prior Republican presidential nominees.

Jews continue to vote 70–80% Democratic; however, a slim majority of Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews voted for the Republican Party in 2016, following years of growing Orthodox Jewish support for the party due to its social conservatism and increasingly pro-Israel foreign policy stance. Over 70% of Orthodox Jews identify as Republican or Republican leaning as of 2021. An exit poll conducted by the Associated Press for 2020 found 35% of Muslims voted for Donald Trump. The mainline traditional Protestants (Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Disciples) have dropped to about 55% Republican (in contrast to 75% before 1968). Democrats have close links with the African American churches, especially the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., National Baptists, while their historic dominance among Catholic voters has eroded to 54–46 in the 2010 midterms.

Although once strongly Democratic, Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic voters have been politically divided in the 21st century with 52% of Catholic voters voting for Trump in 2016 United States presidential election, 2016 and 52% voting for Biden in 2020 United States presidential election, 2020. While Catholic Republican leaders try to stay in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church on subjects such as abortion, contraception, euthanasia, and embryonic stem cell research, they tend to differ on the death penalty and same-sex marriage.

Republican presidents

As of 2025, there have been 19 Republican presidents.

Recent electoral history

In congressional elections: 1950–present

In presidential elections: 1856–present

See also

* History of the Republican Party (United States)
* History of the Democratic Party (United States)
* List of African-American Republicans
* List of Hispanic and Latino Republicans
* List of state parties of the Republican Party (United States)
* Political party strength in U.S. states

Notes

References

Further reading

* ''The Almanac of American Politics 2022'' (2022) details on members of Congress, and the governors: their records and election results; also state and district politics; revised every two years since 1975
details
; see The Almanac of American Politics
* ''American National Biography'' (20 volumes, 1999) covers all politicians no longer alive; online at many academic libraries and a
Wikipedia Library
.
* Aberbach, Joel D., ed. and Peele, Gillian, ed. ''Crisis of Conservatism?: The Republican Party, the Conservative Movement, and American Politics after Bush'' (Oxford UP, 2011). 403pp
* Aistrup, Joseph A. ''The Southern Strategy Revisited: Republican Top-Down Advancement in the South'' (1996).
* Bauman, Dan, and Brock Read. "A Brief History of GOP Attempts to Kill the Education Dept" ''Chronicle of Higher Education'' (June 21, 2018)
* Black, Earl and Merle Black. ''The Rise of Southern Republicans'' (2002).
* Bowen, Michael, ''The Roots of Modern Conservatism: Dewey, Taft, and the Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party.'' (U of North Carolina Press, 2011). xii, 254pp.
* Brennan, Mary C. ''Turning Right in the Sixties: The Conservative Capture of the GOP'' (1995).
* Conger, Kimberly H. ''The Christian Right in Republican State Politics'' (2010) 202 pages; focuses on Arizona, Indiana, and Missouri.
* Crane, Michael. ''The Political Junkie Handbook: The Definitive Reference Books on Politics'' (2004) covers all the major issues explaining the parties' positions.
* Critchlow, Donald T. ''The Conservative Ascendancy: How the Republican Right Rose to Power in Modern America'' (2nd ed. 2011).
* Ehrman, John, ''The Eighties: America in the Age of Reagan'' (2005).
* Fauntroy, Michael K. ''Republicans and the Black vote'' (2007).
*
* Frank, Thomas. ''What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America'' (2005).
* David Frum, Frum, David. ''What's Right: The New Conservative Majority and the Remaking of America'' (1996).
* Gould, Lewis L. ''The Republicans : A History of the Grand Old Party'' (2nd ed, 2014); First edition 2003 was entitled: ''Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans'
online 2nd edition
th standard scholarly history
* Hemmer, Nicole. ''Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s'' (2022)
*
* John Judis, Judis, John B. and Ruy Teixeira. ''The Emerging Democratic Majority'' (2004), two Democrats project social trends.
* Kabaservice, Geoffrey. ''Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, From Eisenhower to the Tea Party'' (2012) scholarly history .
* Kleppner, Paul, et al. ''The Evolution of American Electoral Systems'' (1983), applies party systems model.
* Kurian, George Thomas ed. ''The Encyclopedia of the Republican Party'' (4 vol., 2002).
* Lamis, Alexander P. ed. ''Southern Politics in the 1990s'' (1999).
* Levendusky, Matthew. ''The Partisan Sort: How Liberals Became Democrats and Conservatives Became Republicans'' (2009). Chicago Studies in American Politics.
* Mason, Robert. ''The Republican Party and American Politics from Hoover to Reagan'' (2011).
* Mason, Robert and Morgan, Iwan (eds.) ''Seeking a New Majority: The Republican Party and American Politics, 1960–1980.'' (2013) Nashville, TN. Vanderbilt University Press. 2013.
* Mayer, George H. ''The Republican Party, 1854–1966.'' 2d ed. (1967); a standard scholarly history;
online
*
* Oakes, James. ''The Crooked Path to Abolition: Abraham Lincoln and the Antislavery Constitution'' (W.W. Norton, 2021).
* Oakes, James. ''Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861–1865'' (W. W. Norton, 2012)
* Rick Perlstein, Perlstein, Rick. ''Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus'' (2002), broad account of 1964.
* Perlstein, Rick. ''Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America'' (2009).
* Reinhard, David W. ''The Republican Right since 1945'' (1983).
* Rutland, Robert Allen. ''The Republicans: From Lincoln to Bush'' (1996).
* Larry Sabato, Sabato, Larry J. ''Divided States of America: The Slash and Burn Politics of the 2004 Presidential Election'' (2005).
* Sabato, Larry J. and Bruce Larson. ''The Party's Just Begun: Shaping Political Parties for America's Future'' (2001), textbook.
* Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Schlesinger, Arthur Meier Jr. ed. ''History of American Presidential Elections, 1789–2000'' (various multivolume editions, latest is 2001). Essays on the most important election are reprinted in Schlesinger, ''The Coming to Power: Critical presidential elections in American history'' (1972)
online editions
* Shafer, Byron E. and Anthony J. Badger, eds. ''Contesting Democracy: Substance and Structure in American Political History, 1775–2000'' (2001), essays by specialists on each time period:
** includes: "To One or Another of These Parties Every Man Belongs": 1820–1865 by Joel H. Silbey; "Change and Continuity in the Party Period: 1835–1885" by Michael F. Holt; "The Transformation of American Politics: 1865–1910" by Peter H. Argersinger; "Democracy, Republicanism, and Efficiency: 1885–1930" by Richard Jensen; "The Limits of Federal Power and Social Policy: 1910–1955" by Anthony J. Badger; "The Rise of Rights and Rights Consciousness: 1930–1980" by James T. Patterson; and "Economic Growth, Issue Evolution, and Divided Government: 1955–2000" by Byron E. Shafer.
* Shafer, Byron and Richard Johnston. ''The End of Southern Exceptionalism'' (2006), uses statistical election data and polls to argue GOP growth was primarily a response to economic change.
* Steely, Mel. ''The Gentleman from Georgia: The Biography of Newt Gingrich'' Mercer University Press, 2000. .
* Sundquist, James L. ''Dynamics of the Party System: Alignment and Realignment of Political Parties in the United States'' (1983).
* Wooldridge, Adrian and John Micklethwait. ''The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America'' (2004).

External links

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