We Are Watching the Republican Party’s Ideological Shift in Real Time

Photo via Politico

EMILY BEAMAN: As America closes in on the 2024 election cycle, there is an important political development that the nation should keep in mind: we are witnessing the Republican party’s ideological shift toward extremism. The shift is not a result of changing attitudes toward policy stances, but is a reaction to the adoption of strong identity politics.

Although this is a partial reaction to Donald Trump’s election in 2016, it fits in line with the United States’ recent trends of intensified polarization and identity politics. Over the last decade, more people have associated their varying identities with a singular political party. People have felt more inclined to project some identities over others during this time, which then attach to the rest of the party’s platform. 

When so many varying identities and perspectives attempt to fit into one party classification, politicians find any similarities to bolster. This perpetuates the cycle of attaching one’s identity to political parties. As people's perceived importance of these identities grow, they begin to perceive any contrasting identity as a threat. People, by nature, are reactive when their identity is threatened. To defend themselves, they vote and call for their party’s politicians to take more extreme stands.

Although this defense response happens in the Democratic Party as well, the Republican party has shifted more to the right in comparison. A 2019 survey found that the G.O.P. resembles authoritarian parties more than other Western center-right parties.

This shift toward right-wing extremism was solidified during the 2016 presidential election and succeeding Trump-era politics. Most people, including mainstream Republicans, assumed the G.O.P. would reject a Trump nomination. His bold and brash campaign seemed too “out-there” to work for a party hoping that winning the moderate and independent votes would win their power back. When the G.O.P. realized the ability of Trump’s persona to appeal to a new horde of citizens who had not been showing up to vote, they embraced the “MAGA” ideology. This meant standing up for ideals structured around extreme nativist and religious principles.

As his term continued, the Republican party adopted more anti-democratic ideology in place of their anti-large-government ideology. Trump’s position at the head of politics during this time allowed the G.O.P to target people whose identities included government distrust. Not only did the Republican party gain this set of supporters, and respective identities, but they needed to adapt their perspectives so as to not lose them in a post-Trump party. The G.O.P. had to take more extreme stances that their new base was calling for.

This shift can also be noted in the attitude change toward staunch Republicans who have been in the center-right for decades. Non-Trump supporting Republicans have more and more consistently found themselves ostracized from the rest of the party. Those who have more extreme or far-right stances are being elevated to positions of power, most recently Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

Looking at the polarization and resulting intensified identity politics the United States has been experiencing, this jump to extremism was inevitable, and will likely occur amongst Democrats over the next election cycle. The Republican Party’s shift in policies are a reflection of the deepened connections citizens have formed with their identities, something that could easily spread to the other party.

In front of our own eyes, we are able to see our political system adapt to a changing environment. Heading into the next political cycle, it is crucial to understand where this shift is coming from and that the change is not temporary. 

Emily Beaman is a staff writer for On the Record from Wichita Falls, Texas. She is a first year Master of Professional Studies in Journalism student at the School of Continuing Studies. She graduated from Midwestern State University in 2023 with degrees in Political Science and Global Studies and a minor in journalism.