Who are the Republicans: the Republican party and its many factions

With the world’s oldest democracy voting to elect its 47th President, let us take a quick trip down American history to understand what is the republican party, and who are the Republicans.

The Origins

Curiously, the term republican was adopted by supporters of Thomas Jefferson in 1792. And even though Jefferson’s political philosophy is reflected in the ethos of the modern republican party, his faction eventually evolved into what is today, the democratic party – the republican party’s main rival.
Not only this, while the Republicans have now officially embraced red as their colour, the idea was the brainchild of network news broadcasters who identified states won by George W. Bush in 2000 as red, as opposed to blue states won by Democrat Al Gore.
The republican party or the Grand Old Party – the GOP – as it is popularly called, was founded in March 1854, in Ripon, Wisconsin.
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the first republican president of the country. His role in abolishing slavery – the party’s biggest legacy – also led to the party being sometimes called ‘the party of Lincoln’.

What do the Republicans believe in?
The central unifying feature of its foundation was its opposition to slavery, especially the Kansas-Nebraska Act which would potentially lead to its expansion.

The party supported economic reforms, was aligned with classical liberalism, and consisted of members from other parties as well, including the free-soil anti slavery party, the anti-Nebraska movement, and the Whig Party – the erstwhile second largest American political party.

The Republican party continues to be anti-communist and anti-socialist, and emphasizes economic nationalism, reduced state intervention, tax cuts, traditional social values – including restrictive reproductive rights for women and rejection of transgender rights.
In foreign policy, the republican party has supported a strong national defense, and the aggressive pursuit of U.S. national security interests, even when it entails acting unilaterally or in opposition to international norms and positions.

The party’s foreign policy may be interventionist, as has been the case in the past. But recent trends indicate a more isolationist, protectionist, and non-interventionist republican foreign policy position.

The Republican evolution: Party and its leaders
Reference to the party as the GOP, as well as its association with the elephant took place in the 1870s, and was consolidated by famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1874 with his piece ‘third term panic’.
Between 1860 and 1932, republican candidates won 14 of 18 presidential elections, through support from an alliance of northern and mid-western farmers and big-business interests. Over time, the party also gained support from the middle-class suburbanites – who continue to support republicans today. A large majority of support for the party at present, comes from evangelical Christians, rural and white voters, men, and senior citizens.
While the republican party was historically less popular in the north, election trends for 2020 indicate a changing paradigm of voter behaviour. Northeastern states, however, continue to remain largely democratic.

After its ouster from power in 1933 due to its failure to tackle the repercussions of the great depression, a moderate wing of the party came back to power in 1953 under Dwight D. Eisenhower. The republican party continued to give America its presidents in Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and George W. Bush.

Republican John Mccain’s defeat at the hands of Barack Obama in 2008, marked a period of relative ascendency for the democratic party.

Donald Trump’s presidency between 2017 – 2021 marks the rise of right wing and authoritarian populism within the republican party, which is neo-nationalist and protectionist in nature, and is seen clearly in his border policies and opposition to immigration. This wing also rejects environmentalism and denies climate change.

Republican party and its many factions
Under the large umbrella of the republican party, exist diverse ideological positions, ranging from the extreme right-wing to a progressive bloc, as well as conservative, and moderate wings. Therefore, divisions and factions – especially during presidential elections – are a common feature of the republican party.

Donald Trump’s presidency and his defeat in 2021 left the Republicans divided into five factions: the never-Trump, post-Trump GOP, Trump boosters, die-hard trumpets, and Infowars GOP. The PEW research centre has also identified five typologies within the Republican coalition: the faith and flag conservatives, committed conservatives, populist right, ambivalent right, and stressed sideliners.

Various reports by Washington Post, CNN, and New York Times have also identified the ‘five families’ of the Republican Party. These are the right-wing house freedom caucus, the conservative republican study committee, the business inclined main street caucus, the mainstream republican governance group, and the Republican members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

Trumpists – the proponents of the MAGA movement – and those backing Donald Trump’s claim to the presidency – are the dominant faction in the Republican Party at present.