Category Archives: Republican

Although it is possible the jury made a mistake when it handed down a guilty verdict, neither Carlson nor Rittenhouse nor Abbott tried to argue the case on the merits. Instead, they made a simple assumption: that any violence against a left-wing protester is justified on its face. Perry had lived out the right-wing fantasy of lethal violence in defense of order. By their lights, he had done nothing wrong.

Prominent conservatives have taken the same view of Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old assailant in the killing of Jordan Neely in a New York City subway car this month. What we know is that Neely, who was homeless, was erratic and acting hostile toward other passengers. Witnesses said he had not attacked anyone. At some point, Penny, a former Marine, placed Neely in a chokehold, which killed him. Two other passengers restrained Neely while he struggled on the ground. Penny is now charged with second-degree manslaughter.

We dont know much, yet, about Pennys mind-set or motivation during his confrontation on the subway. But this has not stopped conservatives from valorizing him in the same way they valorized Rittenhouse and Perry. The Marine who stepped in to protect others is a hero, said Greene, now a congresswoman. The decision to charge Penny, said the Fox News host Greg Gutfeld, was pro-criminal and anti-hero.

In a testament to conservative enthusiasm for Penny, an online fund-raiser has raised more than $2 million for his legal defense. And DeSantis, now angling for the Republican presidential nomination, stepped in with a message of support. We must defeat the Soros-Funded DAs, stop the Lefts pro-criminal agenda, and take back the streets for law abiding citizens, he said on Twitter. We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny. Lets show this Marine Americas got his back.

Its the same language, the same tropes, the same ideas. In listening to conservative fans of Rittenhouse, Perry and Penny, you would never know that there were actual people on the other side of these confrontations. You would never know that those people were, in life, entitled to the protection of the law and that they are, in death, entitled to a full account of the last moments of their lives, with legal responsibility for the men who killed them, if thats what a jury decides.

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Opinion | The Republican Embrace of Vigilantism Is No Accident - The New York Times

EBENSBURG, Pa. Party-endorsed Republican candidates Keith Rager and incumbent Commissioner Scott Hunt cruised by two opponents on Tuesday in the Republican primary for two Cambria County commissioner slots on the November ballot.

They will face incumbent Commissioners Thomas Chernisky and William B.J. Smith, who ran unopposed on the Democratic ticket, in November for the three commissioners seats.

In a rare move, the Cambria County Republican Committee last month endorsed Rager and Hunt in the primary without endorsing Johnstown candidates John DeBartola and Joseph Taranto.

On Tuesday, the winners each received more votes than the combined total of Taranto and DeBartola.

Final totals were Hunt, 8,934 (38%); Rager, 7,938 (34%); DeBartola, 3,361 (14%); and Taranto, 3,178 (13%).

Hunt, of Southmont, was first elected commssioner in 2019 and previously served as Upper Yoder Township supervisor.

I think my hard work over the past three and a half years was noticed, Hunt said in a telephone interview late Tuesday. I think the voters responded to the position that I did what I said I was going to do.

He added that his ability to work with the two Democratic commissioners has been an asset in the election.

People are looking for elected officials who are experienced and even-tempered, Hunt said. Ive been able to work with anyone to better our county. Ive always been less about an agenda and more about working together to improve the area.

Rager, of Salix, said he was grateful to his supporters and is already looking toward November.

Im starting tomorrow, he said.

Rager sees some room for change in the county operations. He wants to look at the budget and review the operations of the county Veterans Affairs office.

The former Marine and member of the Forest Hills school board was employed by UPS for many years.

I fixed the UPS center, and when I was doing that, I learned you never change anything until you get in there and see how things are working, Rager said.

DeBartola and Taranto ran as a team, pushing to change the county operation.

As commissioners, we will overhaul the services provided by the county. In doing so, we will see that they are streamlined and effective offering services on par with or better than other areas, not lagging far behind, the two said, announcing their candidacies.

DeBartola did not respond to a request for comments following the teams defeat.

Randy Griffith is a multimedia reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 532-5057. Follow him on Twitter@PhotoGriffer57.

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ELECTION 2023 | GOP's Hunt, Rager cruise to wins in Republican ... - TribDem.com

Former US president Donald Trump on the 4th hole at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, Co. Clare, during his visit to Ireland. Picture date: Thursday May 4, 2023. (Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images) | GREER, UNITED STATES - MAY 04: Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley holds a rally in Greer, South Carolina, United States on May 4, 2023 (Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Were being forced into the 2024 presidential election far too early. This is giving political reporters ulcersand its also giving Republican candidates more and more opportunities to flounder about just how much they want to restrict abortion. Though they consistently agree that talking about banning abortion does them no favors (because it is extremely popular), they continue to spout their extreme anti-abortion opinions at nearly every opportunity.

I think the media has tried to divide [the American public] by saying we have to decide certain weeks, Republican hopeful Nikki Haley said of abortion ban specifics on Face the Nation on Sunday.In states, yes. At the federal level, its not realistic. (A classic, noncommittal politician sentence.)

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In a direct contrast, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is exploring running for president, went hard out of the gate, saying he supports a 20-week federal abortion ban. It makes total sense to me, he told New Hampshire media in April. Hilariously, he walked that back almost immediately.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said last yearbefore Dobbs sent abortion policy back to the statesthat the state-level abortion ban he signed into law should be reconsidered to add rape and incest exceptions if Roe was overturned. Well, here we are, and Hutchinson has maintained that hed support a national abortion ban if it includes some exceptions. (Yes, Hutchinson is running. Right now, hes the forgotten candidate, but elections are long and everyone seems to get their moment in the spotlight.)

I would support the restrictions, and I would advocate for the exceptions of the life of the mother and the cases of rape and incest, he told CNN last month. I believe thats where the American public is. I dont think anything will come out of Congress without those exceptions. And I certainly would sign a pro-life bill, but I would expect those exceptions to be in place.

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Exceptions to abortion bans are incredibly hard to use and require very intense burdens of proofso in practice, they end up simply being total bans. Of course, Hutchinson is also ignoring the fact that nearly two-thirds of Americans think abortion should be legal, including more than half of people living in states won by Donald Trump in 2020.

Speaking of... Lets talk about Trump, whos never met a political stance he could stick to. In an interview with The Messenger, a newly launched news website, the former president commented on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)and likely rival for the GOP nominationsigning a six-week abortion ban. He has to do what he has to do, Trump said. If you look at what DeSantis did, a lot of people dont even know if he knew what he was doing. But he signed six weeks, and many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh.

Reporter Marc Caputo noted that Trump himself wouldnt declare if he agreed with the many people within the pro-life movement regarding how harsh a six-week abortion ban is or isnt. (For the record, from any sensible persons perspective, isnt just harshits cruel.)

This is typical of Trump: When asked repeatedly by the Washington Post whether he agreed with the six-week ban, he wouldnt comment. The Post also reported that the former president maintains it is a states rights issue and not something he should focus his time on.

While DeSantis hasnt officially declared, hes signed increasingly more stringent anti-abortion laws, decimating abortion access in the southeastthough, so far, hes kept fairly quiet about it.

All of this flailing comes as anti-abortion groups want to make national abortion bans (of any kind) the standard in order to get an endorsement. Even back in October, shortly before the midterm elections, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was mad that Republican candidates were focusing on the economy instead of abortion after overturning Roe v. Wade. Pro-life Republicans must account for their policy positions on abortion, Mallory Carroll, a spokesperson for SBA, told Politico at the time. With pro-abortion Democrats holding rallies specifically to talk about abortion, pro-life Republicans have an opportunity to present a strong contrast to that.

The groups position has only gotten clearer since then. In April, SBAs president said there is now a standard that Trump is running afoul of: We will oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard to stop painful late-term abortions while allowing states to enact further protections, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, told the New York Times.

This goes against what voters actually want, though. In state-level votes since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, efforts to preserve abortion access have prevailed. Yet Republicans are ignoring that factor dont careand a growing number have committed themselves to looking indecisive and squabbling over deeply unpopular policies in public for the next 18 months.

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Republican Presidential Candidates Are Floundering on How Early to Ban Abortion - Yahoo News

A voter fills out his ballot at an early voting location in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 26, 2022. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption

A voter fills out his ballot at an early voting location in Alexandria, Va., on Sept. 26, 2022.

Virginia on Thursday became the latest Republican-led state to withdraw from a multistate partnership that until early 2022 was considered a widely trusted, bipartisan effort to share voter information.

The move makes Virginia the eighth state to leave the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, amid fringe conservative media reports and conspiracy theories attempting to connect the group to liberal donors and activists.

Virginia's departure is notable because the state was a founding member of the compact in 2012, under former GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell.

As recently as three months ago, Republican voting officials in other states that have since pulled out were praising it as a "godsend" and "one of the best fraud-fighting tools we've got."

But in a letter obtained by member station VPM, Virginia's commissioner of elections, Susan Beals, said a slew of concerns caused her to rethink the state's membership. She cited the recent exit of nearby states, "increasing concerns regarding stewardship, maintenance, privacy, and confidentiality of voter information" and "controversy surrounding the historical sharing of data with outside organizations leveraged for political purposes."

ERIC did previously share, for research purposes, some anonymized data with an outside elections organization led by ERIC's founder David Becker, but each state that participated did so voluntarily.

"We will pursue other information arrangements with our neighboring states and look to other opportunities to partner with states in an apolitical fashion," Beals wrote.

Beals was appointed to the post last year by Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. She previously served as an aide to state Sen. Amanda Chase, who went on to become arguably the state's most prominent election denier.

Beals did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ERIC's executive director, Shane Hamlin, confirmed that the organization received Virginia's resignation Thursday, and Macaulay Porter, a spokesperson for Youngkin, confirmed in a statement that Virginia was withdrawing.

Youngkin, who has hinted at a possible presidential run, dodged questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election until after he secured the GOP gubernatorial nomination. He later acknowledged the vote was legitimate but campaigned for candidates who felt otherwise, including Arizona gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake.

Delegate Marcus Simon, a Democrat who previously led the House of Delegates' election committee, accused Youngkin and Beals of "going full MAGA." He argued Virginia's voter rolls would become worse as a result of the move, a sentiment previously expressed by voting experts after other states departed ERIC.

"This was to prevent all the things that you Republicans say could happen people voting across state lines or voting in more than one state," Simon said. "It's data driven. And it's science based. And apparently, we're leaving, because somebody in the administration wants to align themselves with these MAGA Republicans that believe the election was stolen."

ERIC is the only way states currently have to share election data, as well as data from state motor vehicle agencies and other government departments.

The organization anonymizes the data it receives from states, then compares it to spit out reports that local election administrators can use to correct outdated addresses, remove dead voters, and reach out to eligible people who aren't registered.

For the first 10 years, ERIC grew steadily with states like South Carolina, Connecticut and, most recently, New Jersey joining.

And one of its biggest calling cards was helping to catch the small amount of voter fraud that does happen every federal election. A January report from the Florida Department of State Office of Election Crimes and Security said it had "used data provided by ERIC to identify" hundreds of voters who appeared to have voted in Florida and in another ERIC member state in the same election.

Florida has since announced its departure from ERIC.

Ryan Germany, who worked as general counsel for Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, said at an elections event recently that he saw how ERIC transformed the accuracy of their voter lists.

"We have just seen that list maintenance is so much better with ERIC," Germany said. "It's because of the cross-state data, yes. But even without it, it makes for better in-state maintenance, it makes for catching more dead people that we might not catch through our normal state process."

But recently, the organization has become the latest aspect of American voting to turn polarized.

A far-right website targeted the organization last year with a series of articles claiming ERIC was a left-wing plot to steal elections. That set off a chain reaction of grassroots pressure in conservative states.

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Virginia is the eighth Republican-led state to leave ERIC - NPR

LOCK HAVEN Newcomers Cathy Gedon and Jacqui Anastos, Republican candidates, are punching their ticket for Clinton County Auditor, according to preliminary Primary Election results.

Gedon was the top vote-getter, according to preliminary results, with 2,484. Of that number, 2,233 were cast in-person on Tuesday and another 251 were by mail-in ballot.

Anastos followed behind with 2,055 votes. Of that number, 1,857 were cast at the polls on Tuesday and another 198 were cast via mail-in ballot.

Incumbent Brooke Fravel fell behind with 1,914 votes. Of that number, 1,741 were cast in person and another 173 were by mail-in ballot.

Thirteen write-in votes were also recorded by the Clinton County Voter Registrars office on Tuesday night.

On the Democrat side, incumbent Michelle Crowell was the lone candidate on Tuesdays ballot. Crowell received 2,120 votes. Of that number, 1,411 were cast in-person and another 709 were by mail-in ballot.

Another 153 votes were cast as write-ins.

Three seats are open for Clinton County Auditor this election cycle.

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Preliminary results: Gedon, Anastos to punch Republican ticket for ... - Lock Haven Express

Cranston police share this booking photo of Matthew Reilly.

CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE) Cranstons Mayor Kenneth Hopkins announced Councilman Matthew Reilly resigned from his position of chairman of the Cranston Republican Party.

The mayor made the announcement in his first public comment following Reillys arrest Monday.

My hope is Matt will get whatever care and attention he needs for his own well-being, the mayor said in a release.

I agree with Council President (Jessica) Marino that everyone should allow the court system and judicial process to work towards an appropriate resolution, he continued.

Marino also issued a statement on Tuesday, saying in part, The news of Cranston Republican Party Chairman Matthew Reilly/ Ward 6 Councilman Matthew Reillys arrest and criminal charges are very concerning and disappointing.

Reilly remains on the city council at this time.

Police said at about 11:30 a.m. Monday, someone signaled to an officer in the area of Pontiac Avenue and Marine Drive about a man who looked like he was choking.

The officer saw the man, later identified as Councilman Matthew Reilly, appearing to have a medical episode. The officer noticed Reilly, 41, was holding a glass pipe and a lighter

Reilly was charged with one count of drug possession andwas arraigned by a bail commissioner and released pending a court appearance on June 15.

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Councilman Matthew Reilly resigns as chairman of Cranston ... - WLNE-TV (ABC6)

Republicans could have a crowded field of choices to challenge President Biden, who, at age 80, is the oldest person to serve as president and yet is expected to announce a bid for reelection.

Biden is vulnerable because of questions about the economy and a lack of intensity with the Democratic base. The man to beat in the Republican primary is still former President Donald Trump, who last fall announced his intention to seek the office again. But Trump's own vulnerabilities are glaring, and he will have a fight on his hands to win the Republican nomination again.

Here's a look at the Republicans who are already presidential candidates or who might be:

Announced: Nov. 15, 2022

Strengths: Former President Donald Trump has a stronghold with a significant portion of the GOP base. He has reshaped the Republican Party in his image, has shown he can raise money and has already won the presidency once.

Weaknesses: Chaos and controversy seem to surround him. Trump was impeached twice and is under investigation in multiple states due to his role in inspiring the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and for his continued lies about the 2020 presidential election. Majorities have consistently disapproved of the job he did as president and continue to have a negative view of Trump personally.

Announced: Feb. 14, 2023

Strengths: Nikki Haley, the former Trump administration ambassador to the U.N. and former governor of South Carolina, was the first candidate to challenge Trump. She's a fresh and diverse face on the national scene and will very likely be the only woman in the Republican 2024 presidential field. Haley served in the Trump administration, so she can tout that with the MAGA base, and she is a less abrasive conservative than Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Haley has a record as a governor (from a key early-primary state), articulates the case for Republican leadership well, is the daughter of Indian immigrants and is a couple of generations younger than Trump and Biden.

Weaknesses: Haley is not very well known nationally, and one of her first policy moves soon after announcing her bid was to say Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare should be on the chopping block.

There will also be parts of her record that conservatives will go after, like past, more inclusive statements on immigration and immigrants despite some harder-line policies she signed on to as governor in a party that has moved hard to the right on the issue. Then there's Haley's taking down of the Confederate flag at the South Carolina State House grounds after the killing of nine Black parishioners at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. How that will cut is unclear in a GOP primary, as the party has moved to the right culturally.

Announced: Feb. 21, 2023

Strengths: Former tech and finance executive Vivek Ramaswamy is a fresh, young diverse face for most Americans, has a sterling educational background and comes from the business world, which is traditionally valued in the GOP primary. He has been a prominent voice in conservative circles, arguing against the environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement and against "woke"-ism. That could help him with white-collar Republicans, who want an alternative to Trump.

Weaknesses: He's not well known, is very young for a presidential candidate, doesn't start with a solid base of support and will likely have trouble breaking through as a serious major candidate.

Strengths: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the name on the tips of Republicans' tongues. He has been described as "Trump without the baggage" or "Trump with a brain." (He went to Yale University and Harvard Law School.) At only 44 years old, he's more than a generation younger than the former president. He has been governor of a big state Florida and gained prominence for his defiance on COVID-19 regulations, immigration and education. Several state and national polls over the past several months have shown him leading Trump, and while he has not declared his candidacy yet, people in his inner circle may believe now is the time.

Weaknesses: He may be more disciplined than Trump, but he lacks a certain charm. Some have cast doubt on his retail-politicking ability. While his conservative record may play well with many on the right, it's the very thing that may be his biggest weakness in a general election. As a U.S. House member, he was part of the ultra-right-wing House Freedom Caucus and was critical of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan's budget as not making enough cuts. Part of what he supported was a budget that slashed benefits to Social Security and Medicare. But he will also have to contend with anti-abortion-rights activists who believe Florida's 15-week abortion ban didn't go far enough. Generally, he's also untested as a national candidate. To this point, he has made Biden his foe, but how he'll handle the incoming from Republican rivals isn't clear at this point.

Strengths: Mike Pence's biggest strength as well as a big reason he was Trump's vice president in the first place is his appeal with white Christian evangelicals. They are a sizable portion of the Republican base, especially in Iowa, a critical early-nominating state. He has a national profile and has been involved in a presidential campaign once already.

Weaknesses: Pence's weaknesses are glaring. His break with Trump has made him a bit of a pariah for the MAGA base, and he doesn't have much of a base of his own beyond a segment of white evangelicals. Despite his national profile, he lags well behind the rest of the field in hypothetical matchups.

Strengths: Mike Pompeo served as secretary of state and CIA director under Trump high-profile jobs that upped not only his national but his international bona fides. This gives him a much firmer platform to start from for a presidential campaign than simply being a congressman from Kansas. He's serious and conservative, and his jobs under Trump give him some ability to criticize both Trump and Biden on foreign affairs. He's also close to billionaire conservative donor Charles Koch.

Weaknesses: It's hard to see how Pompeo emerges from the GOP sun-blocker that is Trump. When asked if he'd support Trump in 2024, Pompeo said, "Oh goodness, no," leaving open the possibility of his own run or supporting another candidate. "I'm very hopeful that people won't choose tweets and celebrity, but rationality and arguments. That we'll have a real conversation within our party." Though he had high-profile jobs under Trump, he doesn't have a natural base with any particular segment of the Republican Party, isn't well known nationally and doesn't have a very dynamic personality.

Strengths: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu will try to carve out a moderate, anti-Trump lane. He has tried to say that his party needs to move on from Trump and that DeSantis' style of governance is too authoritarian. He's popular in his home state, and his home state just so happens to be a key early-primary state.

Weaknesses: He's not very well known nationally, and he is out of step with a large portion of the GOP base with his socially moderate views. Sununu is largely in favor of abortion rights but supports restrictions later in pregnancies. Yet he has said: "I've done more on the pro-life issue, if you will, than [any other New Hampshire governor]," touting New Hampshire's 24-week ban. Sununu has tried to walk a line on immigration, saying that this is a "country of immigrants," but he has also endorsed DeSantis' migrant flights: "Anything we can do to bring national awareness to it has to be done," he said, noting that he didn't want the migrants sent to New Hampshire, though.

Strengths: Tim Scott is Black and from a key early GOP primary state South Carolina. While he's conservative, his diverse background and upbringing bring a different perspective to the white-dominated Republican Party. The only Black Republican senator can have a commanding presence and has a more optimistic outlook than Trump or DeSantis. He has also hoarded millions of dollars and started to reach out to a national donor base.

Weaknesses: His national profile is lacking, and that will take time and money to build. He also has to contend with the problem that Haley presents, running from the same state with a similar donor set and geographic strength. They could split the vote in the South Carolina primary, opening a path for another candidate. Scott is also untested when it comes to how he will attack another opponent. He's largely seen as a nice-guy candidate. Some of his views are also ultra-conservative and could hurt him in a general election.

Strengths: Glenn Youngkin won election as governor in a Democratic-leaning state Virginia. During his campaign, he was able to strike a balance with Trump. He did not speak out against Trump and he accepted Trump's endorsement, but he did not campaign with him, as he tried to balance winning over Trump voters and swing voters. Many candidates have since been advised to use the Youngkin model. He focused on education and how racism and gender are taught in schools, which has been a cultural touchstone with the base. He's very wealthy worth almost half a billion dollars thanks to a career in private equity and has shown he's willing to spend on a campaign.

Weaknesses: It's not clear the model he won on can be replicated nationally and in a presidential-election year. He was able to do what he did in Biden's first year as president, and traditionally, the candidate of the opposite party as the president has an advantage in Virginia gubernatorial races. He's also not well known nationally, and the scrutiny of his business and financial dealings would be intense.

Strengths: A feisty favorite of many conservatives, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem gained prominence with her administration's opposition to restrictive COVID-19 policies. Her state's largest city, Sioux Falls, has seen strong growth over the last few years, and Noem has gotten a good deal of attention, particularly for a governor from a small state.

Weaknesses: Coming from such a small state is a difficult jumping-off point for a presidential candidate. Fewer than a million people live in South Dakota. Looked at another way, it wouldn't even be in the country's top 40 counties. Noem is untested on a national stage, and with a potentially crowded field of people with higher profiles from larger states, Noem's likeliest shot at the national ticket is making the shortlist for vice president.

Strengths: Asa Hutchinson is Arkansas' former governor, and that executive experience is usually a good launching point for president. He's trying to carve out a position that appeals to Republican-leaning independents, as he's standing against the "chaos" of Trump and has criticized the former president because of his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. He has a conservative record on taxes and abortion rights, which, on paper, could be attractive to the GOP base.

Weaknesses: Hutchinson's opposition to Trump will make it difficult to win over a significant portion of Trump's base. He also has a fairly dry personality and is on the older side for a presidential candidate, especially for one not already well known nationally.

Strengths: Liz Cheney, Wyoming's former congresswoman and the daughter of a former vice president, is well known and prosecutes the case against Trump well, making her potentially formidable on a debate stage.

Weaknesses: Her intense opposition to Trump, despite her conservative policy bona fides, makes it difficult to see how she could gain enough support to win the GOP nomination. And with the Republican National Committee mandating that candidates pledge to back whoever wins the nomination, in order to participate in its debates, she may never be seen in one.

Strengths: The hawkish former national security adviser under Trump, John Bolton has had a prominent career, serving the last four Republican presidents. He's also likely fairly well known to Fox News viewers, as he regularly appeared on the network. Foreign policy is his area of expertise, and he's likely eager to take on Trump on the subject, given Bolton's sharp criticisms of the former president after he left Trump's administration.

Weaknesses: He has made enemies in both parties and both wings of the Republican Party, including with Trump. That narrows the potential GOP voters open to him. Republicans are also simply not animated right now by an interventionist foreign policy. His age will be a factor as well.

Alyson Hurt and Ashley Ahn contributed to the design and development of this story. It was edited by Megan Pratz and Heidi Glenn, photo edited by Catie Dull and copy edited by Preeti Aroon.

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Here's a list of Republican 2024 presidential candidates : NPR

Although its founders refused to recognize the right of states and territories to practice slavery, the modern Republican Party supports states rights against the power of the federal government in most cases, and it opposes the federal regulation of traditionally state and local matters, such as policing and education. Because the party is highly decentralized (as is the Democratic Party), it encompasses a wide variety of opinion on certain issues, though it is ideologically more unified at the national level than the Democratic Party is. The Republicans advocate reduced taxes as a means of stimulating the economy and advancing individual economic freedom. They tend to oppose extensive government regulation of the economy, government-funded social programs, affirmative action, and policies aimed at strengthening the rights of workers. Many Republicans, though not all, favour increased government regulation of the private, noneconomic lives of citizens in some areas, such as abortion, though most Republicans also strongly oppose gun-control legislation. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to support organized prayer in public schools and to oppose the legal recognition of equal rights for gays and lesbians (see gay rights movement). Regarding foreign policy, the Republican Party traditionally 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 the views of the international community.

Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party formulate their platforms quadrennially at national political conventions, which are held to nominate the parties presidential candidates. The conventions take place in the summer of each presidential election year; by tradition, the incumbent party holds its convention second. The Republican National Convention typically gathers some 2,000 delegates who are selected during the winter and spring.

Until the 1970s, few nationwide rules governed the selection of delegates to the Republican National Convention. After the Democratic Party adopted a system based on state primaries and caucuses, the Republicans followed suit. More than 40 states now select delegates to the Republican convention through primary elections, while several other states choose delegates through caucuses. Virtually all Republican primaries allocate delegates on a winner-take-all basis, so that the candidate who wins the most votes in a state is awarded all the delegates of that state. In contrast, almost all Democratic primaries allocate delegates based on the proportion of the vote each candidate receives. As a result, the Republicans tend to choose their presidential nominees more quickly than the Democrats do, often long before the summer nominating convention, leaving the convention simply to ratify the winner of the primaries.

In addition to confirming the partys presidential nominee and adopting the party platform, the national convention formally chooses a national committee to organize the next convention and to govern the party until the next convention is held. The Republican National Committee (RNC) consists of about 150 party leaders representing all U.S. states and territories. Its chairman is typically named by the partys presidential nominee and then formally elected by the committee. Republican members of the House and the Senate organize themselves into party conferences that elect the party leaders of each chamber. In keeping with the decentralized nature of the party, each chamber also creates separate committees to raise and disburse funds for House and Senate election campaigns. Although Republican congressional party organizations maintain close informal relationships with the RNC, they are formally separate from it and not subject to its control. Similarly, state party organizations are not subject to direct control by the national committee.

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Republican Party - Policy and structure | Britannica

AbbreviationGOP (Grand Old Party)ChairpersonRonna McDaniel (MI)[1]Standing CommitteeRepublican National CommitteeHouse SpeakerKevin McCarthy (CA)House Minority LeaderMitch McConnell (KY)[1]FoundedMarch20, 1854; 169 years ago(1854-03-20)PrecededbyWhig PartyFree Soil PartyHeadquarters310 First Street SEWashington, D.C. 20003Student wingCollege RepublicansYouth wingYoung RepublicansHigh School RepublicansWomen's wingNational Federation of Republican WomenOverseas wingRepublicans OverseasMembership(2023)36,019,694[2]IdeologyMajority: Conservatism[3] Social conservatism[4][5][6] Economic liberalism[7][8]

Factions: Centrism[9] Fiscal conservatism[10]

Fusionism[11][12] Libertarianism[13] Neoconservatism[13] Paleoconservatism[14] Right-wing populism[15][16] Economic nationalism[17][18]

The United States Republican Party is one of the two big political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party, the Republican Party's main opponent. The United States has many other small parties known as third parties. The Republican Party is a center-right party, contrast to the center-left Democratic Party.

The Republicans are sometimes called "the right" or "conservatives". The Republican Party itself is also known as the GOP, which stands for "Grand Old Party". Ideologically, it favours fiscal and social conservatism,[23] opposing abortion,[24] euthanasia, labor unions, affirmative action,[25] marijuana legalisation, and a high minimum wage,[26] whilst advocating low taxes,[27] limited government,[28] gun rights,[29] free markets, and free trade,[30] although it held protectionist opinions during its early days,[31] in Theodore Roosevelts presidency, and held anti-free trade opinions in Donald Trumps presidency.[32]

The symbol of the Republican party is the elephant. This symbol was first used in 1874 in a political cartoon by Thomas Nast.[33]

The Republican National Committee, or "RNC", is the main organization for the Republican Party in all 50 states. The Republican Party is not the same political party as the Democratic-Republican Party. A state where most voters vote for Republican politicians is sometimes called a "red state".

The Republican Party was founded in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1853,[34] with the help of Francis Preston Blair. The Republican Party was formed by people who did not like the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which would let each territory allow slavery. The Republican Party was founded by past members of the Free Soil Party and the Whig Party who wanted to stop the expansion of slavery. The founders of the Republican Party wanted to stop the expansion of slavery because they believed it was against the ideals of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Some founders of the Republican Party wanted to abolish slavery everywhere in the United States. The Republican Party's first candidate for President of the United States was John C. Frmont in 1856.

As the Whig Party collapsed, the Republicans became one of two major political parties in the United States (the Democratic Party was the other major political party). In 1860 Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, was elected. For the rest of the second half of the 19th century, the country had mostly Republican presidents. From 1860 until 1912 the Republicans lost the presidential election just twice (non-consecutively to Democrat Grover Cleveland in 1884 and 1892).

Republicans believed in protectionism (the belief that raising taxes on trades with other countries would protect the economy) during the second half of the 19th century and during the early half of the 20th century.

After World War I, the 1920s had three Republican presidents: Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. It was called the Republican Decade for that reason. Harding and Coolidge made a plan for the economy which lowered taxes, made the government spend less money, and got rid of rules and laws that affected the economy.

Near the end of the 1920s, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. During the Great Depression, the Republican Party became less popular. No Republicans were president between 1933 and 1953, when Dwight Eisenhower began his first of two consecutive terms as president (he was re-elected in 1956). Richard Nixon lost the election in 1960, but was elected president on the Republican ticket in 1968 and again in 1972.

Ronald Reagan, an actor and conservative political activist, was elected as president in 1980. Ronald Reagan became the first Republican president who was a former member of the Democratic Party. Ronald Reagan served two terms and his successor George H.W. Bush served one term. Reagan wanted fewer laws to affect the economy, and wanted the military to be stronger.

Bill Clinton (a Democrat) was elected president in 1992, and re-elected in 1996. However, a new Congress was elected in 1994, and Republicans gained control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. They voted against many of Clinton's ideas and proposed ideas of their own such as a line item veto and a balanced budget amendment. In 2000, George W. Bush was elected president, defeating Al Gore in a very close election. Bush was re-elected in 2004.

After elections held in 2006, Republicans lost control of Congress. Democrat Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. Republican John Boehner was elected the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2010 and re-elected in 2012. In 2014, Republicans gained control of the Senate and the House. Boehner resigned in early October 2015 and was eventually succeeded by Paul Ryan of Wisconsin on October 29, 2015. On November 9, 2016, Donald Trump was elected president, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College. Trump was the first Republican to take office as president since January 20, 2001, when George W. Bush was inaugurated. The Republicans lost the House and won the Senate in 2018. Paul Ryan retired in 2019 and was succeeded by Nancy Pelosi, who is a member of the Democratic Party.

In 2020, the Republicans lost the presidency when Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump. In 2022, they were able to get control back of the House of Representatives, but not the Senate.

Currently, the Republican Party is identified by classical liberalism, conservatism, and right-wing policies.

Not all Republicans believe in the same things, but generally, these are the things many Republicans support in all:

Most supporters for the Republican Party come from states in the Southern, Deep South, parts of the Midwest, and the rural Northeast areas of the US, as well as from Montana; though they come from all over the United States, including the northern portion of California.

Republican presidents in the 19th Century

Republican presidents in the 20th Century

Republican presidents in the 21st Century

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Republican Party (United States) - Simple English Wikipedia, the free ...

1. Republicans Erupt in Outrage Over Trump Indictment, Defending the Defendant  The New York Times
2. Republican rivals, leaders rally around Donald Trump after indictment  The Washington Post
3. After indictment, Trump will play the victim and the tactic will work for many Republicans  The Guardian US

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Republicans Erupt in Outrage Over Trump Indictment, Defending the Defendant - The New York Times