Editing Republican Party (United States) (section)

=== Demographics ===
==== Gender ====
[[File:2021 Median wealth by marital status - US.svg|thumb|The median wealth of married couples exceeds that of single individuals, regardless of gender and across all age categories.<ref name=WealthMaritalStatus_2021>{{cite web |title=The Wealth of Households: 2021 / Current Population Reports / P70BR-183 |url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2023/demo/p70br-183.pdf |last1=Sullivan |first1=Brianna |last2=Hays |first2=Donald |last3=Bennett |first3=Neil |page=5 (Figure 2) |publisher=United States Census Bureau |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524023705/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2023/demo/p70br-183.pdf |archive-date=May 24, 2024 |date=June 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
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.<ref name=wvwv2004>[http://www.wvwv.org/docs/WVWV_2004_post-election_memo.pdf "Unmarried Women in the 2004 Presidential Election"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101195440/http://www.wvwv.org/docs/WVWV_2004_post-election_memo.pdf|date=January 1, 2016}} ([[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."</ref> In 2006 House races, 43% of women voted Republican while 47% of men did so.<ref name=2006cnnexitpolls>{{cite news|title=Exit Polls|work=[[CNN]]|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/US/H/00/epolls.0.html|date=November 7, 2006|access-date=November 18, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629021338/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/US/H/00/epolls.0.html|archive-date=June 29, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2010 midterms, the "gender gap" was reduced, with women supporting Republican and Democratic candidates equally (49%–49%).<ref name=abcnews3775>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/vote-2010-elections-results-midterm-exit-poll-analysis/story?id=12003775|title=Exit Poll Analysis: Vote 2010 Elections Results|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=November 2, 2010|access-date=January 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125030423/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/vote-2010-elections-results-midterm-exit-poll-analysis/story?id=12003775|archive-date=January 25, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Weeks2010>{{cite news|last=Weeks|first=Linton|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131039717|title=10 Takeaways From The 2010 Midterms|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=November 3, 2010|access-date=January 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203055924/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131039717|archive-date=February 3, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Exit polls from the 2012 elections revealed a continued weakness among unmarried women for the GOP, a large and growing portion of the electorate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21591624-republicans-should-worry-unmarried-women-shun-them-marriage-gap?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/themarriagegap|title=Republicans should worry that unmarried women shun them|date=December 14, 2013|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=September 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115185951/https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21591624-republicans-should-worry-unmarried-women-shun-them-marriage-gap?fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Fpe%2Fthemarriagegap|archive-date=January 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Although women supported Obama over [[Mitt Romney]] by a margin of 55–44% in 2012, Romney prevailed amongst married women, 53–46%.<ref>{{cite news|date=December 3, 2012|title=The Marriage Gap in the Women's Vote|first=Meg T.|last=McDonnell|url=http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/the-marriage-gap-in-the-womens-vote|work=Crisis Magazine|access-date=December 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031034237/http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/the-marriage-gap-in-the-womens-vote|archive-date=October 31, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Obama won unmarried women 67–31%.<ref>{{cite news|first=Suzanne|last=Goldenberg|date=November 9, 2012|title=Single women voted overwhelmingly in favour of Obama, researchers find|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/09/single-women-voted-favour-obama|access-date=December 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231035001/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/09/single-women-voted-favour-obama|archive-date=December 31, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

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".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Junn|first1=Jane|author-link1=Jane Junn|last2=Masuoka|first2=Natalie|date=2020|title=The Gender Gap Is a Race Gap: Women Voters in US Presidential Elections|journal=Perspectives on Politics|volume=18|issue=4|pages=1135–1145|doi=10.1017/S1537592719003876|issn=1537-5927|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/white-women-support-gop/507617/|title=White Female Voters Continue to Support the Republican Party|quote=Hard-core partisans don't switch teams over the personal shortcomings of their champion.|website=[[The Atlantic]]|date=November 14, 2016|access-date=January 30, 2021|archive-date=December 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215024943/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/white-women-support-gop/507617/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Education ====
{{see also|Educational attainment in the United States}}
[[File:Non-College White vote by state.jpg|thumb|Map of the Non-college White vote in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] by state.<ref name="White Vote and Educational Polarization">{{Cite web|url=https://split-ticket.org/2022/01/03/the-white-vote-and-educational-polarization/|title=The White Vote and Educational Polarization|first1=Lakshya|last1=Jain|date=January 3, 2022|access-date=January 4, 2025|website=Split Ticket}}</ref>]]
[[File:College white vote by state.jpg|thumb|Map of the College White vote in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] by state.<ref name="White Vote and Educational Polarization"/>]]
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.<ref name="cambridge.org" /><ref name="Nate Silver">{{Cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/education-not-income-predicted-who-would-vote-for-trump/|title=Education, Not Income, Predicted Who Would Vote For Trump|date=November 22, 2016|website=FiveThirtyEight|first1=Nate|last1=Silver}}</ref><ref name="Harry Enten"/> White voters without college degrees tend to be more socially conservative and are more likely to live in rural areas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/12/politics/republicans-democrats-different-worlds/index.html|title=Republicans and Democrats increasingly really do occupy different worlds|last=Brownstein|first=Ronald|work=CNN|access-date=October 24, 2018|archive-date=October 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024113248/https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/12/politics/republicans-democrats-different-worlds/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2014/9/24/6840037/white-high-school-dropouts-have-more-wealth-than-black-and-hispanic|title=White high school dropouts are wealthier than Black or Latino college graduates|first1=Danielle|last1=Kurtzleben|date=September 24, 2014|website=Vox}}</ref> According to a 2023 [[Gallup, Inc.|Gallup]] poll, confidence in higher education among Republicans declined sharply from 56% in 2015 to 19% in 2023. Among Democrats, confidence in higher education decreased from 68% in 2015 to 59% in 2023.<ref name="Higher Education">{{Cite news |last=Brenan |first=Megan |date=July 11, 2023 |title=Americans' Confidence in Higher Education Down Sharply |work=Gallup |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/508352/americans-confidence-higher-education-down-sharply.aspx |access-date=July 12, 2023|quote=All Major Subgroups, Led by Republicans, Less Confident in Higher Ed}}</ref>

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 United States presidential election|1964]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Election Polls – Vote by Groups, 1960–1964 |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/9454/Election-Polls-Vote-Groups-19601964.aspx |website=[[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] |access-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726155334/http://www.gallup.com/poll/9454/Election-Polls-Vote-Groups-19601964.aspx |archive-date=July 26, 2011}}</ref> Republican president [[Gerald Ford]] won voters with college degrees 55-43% in [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]], while narrowly losing to [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref name="1976 Presidential Election Data">{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1976&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=1976 Presidential General Election Data – National|access-date=March 18, 2013|archive-date=August 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814021625/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1976&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news |title=CNN.com Election 2004 |url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html |access-date=January 2, 2018 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=May 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514025413/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Until 2016, white voters with college degrees were a Republican-leaning group.<ref name="Polarization by education"/> 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%.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p1|title=National Exit Poll|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 28, 2013|archive-date=June 5, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605132422/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p1|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/09/15/educational-divide-in-vote-preferences-on-track-to-be-wider-than-in-recent-elections/|date=September 15, 2016|website=Pew Research Center|title=Educational divide in vote preferences on track to be wider than in recent elections|first1=Rob|last1=Suls}}</ref> Since the 2010s,<ref name="Polarization by education">{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/10/13/polarisation-by-education-is-remaking-american-politics|title=Polarisation by education is remaking American politics|newspaper=The Economist|date=October 13, 2024|quote=From 1952 to 2000, a majority of white voters with college degrees self-identified as Republicans. Starting with the 2012 election, this affiliation began to weaken. It loosened even more once [Donald] Trump became the Republican standard-bearer in 2016. By 2020, the college-educated called themselves Democrats by a 2:1 margin. And there were many more of them; their share of the electorate rose from 8% in 1952 to 40% in 2020. Had the party held on to the rest of its support, this would have ensured an enduring majority. Yet at the same time, Democrats lost support among whites without college degrees. They now favour Republicans by their own margin of 2:1.}}</ref> white voters with college degrees have been increasingly voting for the Democratic Party.<ref name="nymag.com">{{cite web|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/10/education-polarization-diploma-divide-democratic-party-working-class.html|title=How the Diploma Divide Is Remaking American Politics|first1=Eric|last1=Levitz|website=[[New York (magazine)|New York Intelligencer]]|date=October 19, 2022|access-date=April 24, 2023|archive-date=October 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020215535/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/10/education-polarization-diploma-divide-democratic-party-working-class.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/opinion/education-american-politics.html|title=The 'Diploma Divide' Is the New Fault Line in American Politics|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 17, 2023|access-date=April 24, 2023|first1=Doug|last1=Sosnik|archive-date=April 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424073901/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/opinion/education-american-politics.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2016/11/18/educational-rift-in-2016-election/|title=The educational rift in the 2016 election|first=William A. Galston and Clara|last=Hendrickson|date=November 18, 2016|access-date=March 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308080815/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2016/11/18/educational-rift-in-2016-election/|archive-date=March 8, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

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%.<ref name="nymag.com"/><ref name="nytimes.com"/><ref>{{Cite news|title=National Results 2020 President exit polls.|url=https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/exit-polls/president/national-results|access-date=2020-12-04|work=[[CNN]]|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 6, 2024|title=Exit poll results 2024|url=https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0|access-date=November 6, 2024|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

==== Ethnicity ====
{{see also|Race and ethnicity in the United States}}
[[File:White voters.jpg|thumb|300px|White vote in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] by state.<ref name="White Voters">{{Cite web|url=https://split-ticket.org/2023/03/24/where-do-democrats-win-white-voters/|title=Where Do Democrats Win White Voters?|website=Split Ticket|first1=Lakshya|last1=Jain|first2=Harrison|last2=Lavelle|first3=Armin|last3=Thomas|access-date=December 20, 2024|date=March 24, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Cohn-2014">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/upshot/southern-whites-loyalty-to-gop-nearing-that-of-blacks-to-democrats.html|title=Southern Whites' Loyalty to GOP Nearing that of Blacks to Democrats|first1=Nate|last1=Cohn|website=The New York Times|date=April 23, 2014}}</ref>]]
Republicans are strongest with [[White Southerners]], particularly White [[evangelical Christianity|evangelical Christians]] in the [[Bible Belt]], which covers most of the [[Southern United States]].<ref name="Cohn-2014"/> Republicans have consistently won the white vote in every presidential election after the [[1964 United States presidential election|1964 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=Gary|last2=Schofield|first2=Norman|year=2008|title=The Transformation of the Republican and Democratic Party Coalitions in the U.S.|journal=Perspectives on Politics|volume=6|issue=3|pages=433–450|doi=10.1017/S1537592708081218|s2cid=145321253|issn=1541-0986|quote=1964 was the last presidential election in which the Democrats earned more than 50 percent of the white vote in the United States.}}</ref>

Republicans have been winning under 15% of the African American vote in national elections since 1980. The party abolished chattel slavery under [[Abraham Lincoln]], defeated the [[Slave Power]], and gave Black people the legal right to vote during [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction in the late 1860s]]. Until the [[New Deal]] of the 1930s, Black people supported the Republican Party by large margins.<ref name=South>In the South, they were often not allowed to vote, but still received some Federal patronage appointments from the Republicans</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Heersink|first1=Boris|last2=Jenkins|first2=Jeffery A.|date=2020|title=Whiteness and the Emergence of the Republican Party in the Early Twentieth-Century South|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-american-political-development/article/whiteness-and-the-emergence-of-the-republican-party-in-the-early-twentiethcentury-south/899B4B98A78353683C3C6050DFA5771B/core-reader|journal=Studies in American Political Development|volume=34|pages=71–90|doi=10.1017/S0898588X19000208|s2cid=213551748|issn=0898-588X|access-date=January 11, 2020|archive-date=February 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222013516/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-american-political-development/article/abs/whiteness-and-the-emergence-of-the-republican-party-in-the-early-twentiethcentury-south/899B4B98A78353683C3C6050DFA5771B|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Party Realignment – US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |url=https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Temporary-Farewell/Party-Realignment/ |access-date=June 24, 2020 |website=history.house.gov |archive-date=December 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221074318/https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Essays/Temporary-Farewell/Party-Realignment/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=Sitkoff>Harvard Sitkoff, ''A New Deal for Blacks'' (1978).</ref>

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.<ref name=Holmes2010>{{cite news|author=L. A. Holmes|url=http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/03/black-republicans-win-first-congress-seats-2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104213733/http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/03/black-republicans-win-first-congress-seats-2003|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 4, 2010|title=Black Republicans Win First Congress Seats Since 2003|publisher=[[Fox News]]|date=April 7, 2010|access-date=January 30, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN.com Election 2004 |url=https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html |access-date=January 12, 2023 |website=www.cnn.com |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104035510/https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leal |first=David |date=2004 |title=The Latino Vote in the 2004 Election |url=http://mattbarreto.com/papers/2004vote.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128155620/http://mattbarreto.com/papers/2004vote.pdf |archive-date=January 28, 2017 |access-date=January 12, 2023 |website=mattbarreto.com/}}</ref><ref name=2004cnnexitpolls>{{cite news|title=Exit Polls|work=[[CNN]]|url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.4.html|date=November 2, 2004|access-date=November 18, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060421062126/http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.4.html|archive-date=April 21, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> The party's strong anti-communist stance has made it popular among some minority groups from current and former Communist states, in particular [[Cuban American]]s, [[Korean American]]s, [[Chinese American]]s and [[Vietnamese American]]s. The 2007 election of [[Bobby Jindal]] as Governor of Louisiana was hailed as pathbreaking.<ref name=BBC7412>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7907412.stm|title=Americas Profile: Bobby Jindal|work=[[BBC News]]|date=February 25, 2009|access-date=May 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102154911/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7907412.stm|archive-date=November 2, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name=deccanherald>{{cite news|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/31998/bobby-jindal-may-become-first.html|title=Bobby Jindal may become first Indian-American to be US prez|newspaper=Deccan Herald|date=October 23, 2009|access-date=May 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420065245/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/31998/bobby-jindal-may-become-first.html|archive-date=April 20, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vietnamese Americans and Donald Trump – DW – 11/23/2020 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/trump-popular-among-vietnamese-americans/a-55702032 |access-date=January 18, 2023 |website=dw.com |language=en |archive-date=January 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114184033/https://www.dw.com/en/trump-popular-among-vietnamese-americans/a-55702032 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Teixeira-2022">{{Cite web |last=Teixeira |first=Ruy |author-link=Ruy Teixeira |date=November 6, 2022 |title=Democrats' Long Goodbye to the Working Class |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/11/democrats-long-goodbye-to-the-working-class/672016/ |access-date=November 8, 2022 |website=[[The Atlantic]] |language=en |quote=As we move into the endgame of the 2022 election, the Democrats face a familiar problem. America's historical party of the working class keeps losing working-class support. And not just among White voters. Not only has the emerging Democratic majority I once predicted failed to materialize, but many of the non-White voters who were supposed to deliver it are instead voting for Republicans... From 2012 to 2020, the Democrats not only saw their support among White working-class voters — those without college degrees — crater, they also saw their advantage among non-White working-class voters fall by 18 points. And between 2016 and 2020 alone, the Democratic advantage among Hispanic voters declined by 16 points, overwhelmingly driven by the defection of working-class voters. In contrast, Democrats' advantage among White college-educated voters improved by 16 points from 2012 to 2020, an edge that delivered Joe Biden the White House. |archive-date=January 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107212010/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/11/democrats-long-goodbye-to-the-working-class/672016/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Cohn-2022">{{Cite news |last=Cohn |first=Nate |date=July 13, 2022 |title=Poll Shows Tight Race for Control of Congress as Class Divide Widens |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/upshot/poll-2022-midterms-congress.html |access-date=August 27, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |quote=But the cofluence of economic problems and resurgent cultural issues has helped turn the emerging class divide in the Democratic coalition into a chasm, as Republicans appear to be making new inroads among non-White and working class voters... For the first time in a Times/Siena national survey, Democrats had a larger share of support among White college graduates than among non-White voters – a striking indication of the shifting balance of political energy... |archive-date=July 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720164749/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/upshot/poll-2022-midterms-congress.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Zitner-2022">{{Cite web |last1=Zitner |first1=Aaron |last2=Mena |first2=Bryan |date=October 2, 2022 |title=Working-Class Latino Voters, Once Solidly Democratic, Are Shifting Toward Republicans |url=https://www.wsj.com/story/working-class-latino-voters-once-solidly-democratic-are-shifting-toward-republicans-a7578ecc |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=[[Wall Street Journal]] |quote=Latinos across America are splitting among economic lines, with a pronounced shift among working-class voters toward the Republican party. |archive-date=October 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008131525/https://www.wsj.com/story/working-class-latino-voters-once-solidly-democratic-are-shifting-toward-republicans-a7578ecc |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kraushaar-2022a">{{Cite web |last=Kraushaar |first=Josh |date=July 14, 2022 |title=The Great American Realignment |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/07/14/republicans-democrats-hispnanic-voters |access-date=August 2, 2022 |website=[[Axios (website)|Axios]] |language=en |quote=Shifts in the demographics of the two parties' supporters — taking place before our eyes — are arguably the biggest political story of our time. Republicans are becoming more working class and a little more multiracial. Democrats are becoming more elite and a little more White... |archive-date=July 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720132417/https://www.axios.com/2022/07/14/republicans-democrats-hispnanic-voters |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kraushaar-2022b">{{Cite web |last=Kraushaar |first=Josh |date=July 13, 2022 |title=The Democratic electorate's seismic shift |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/07/13/democrats-biden-white-college-graduates-poll |access-date=August 2, 2022 |website=[[Axios (website)|Axios]] |language=en |quote=Democrats are becoming the party of upscale voters concerned more about issues like gun control and abortion rights. Republicans are quietly building a multiracial coalition of working-class voters, with inflation as an accelerant... In the Times/Siena poll, Ds hold a 20-point advantage over Rs among White college-educated voters — but are statistically tied among Hispanics. |archive-date=July 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720140825/https://www.axios.com/2022/07/13/democrats-biden-white-college-graduates-poll |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=GOP's surprising edge on diversity|first=John|last=Avlon|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/18/opinion/avlon-gop-diversity/index.html?c=&page=0|work=[[CNN]]|date=January 18, 2013|access-date=January 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131025447/http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/18/opinion/avlon-gop-diversity/index.html?c=&page=0|archive-date=January 31, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name=pewresearch>[http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1209/racial-ethnic-voters-presidential-election?src=prc-latest&proj=peoplepress "Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: Most Diverse in U.S. History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618075224/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1209/racial-ethnic-voters-presidential-election?src=prc-latest&proj=peoplepress|date=June 18, 2012}}. Pew Research Center. April 30, 2009.</ref> In 2012, 88% of Romney voters were White while 56% of Obama voters were White.<ref>Tom Scocca, "Eighty-Eight Percent of Romney Voters Were White", [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/scocca/2012/11/mitt_romney_white_voters_the_gop_candidate_s_race_based_monochromatic_campaign.html ''Slate'' November 7, 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706035304/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/scocca/2012/11/mitt_romney_white_voters_the_gop_candidate_s_race_based_monochromatic_campaign.html |date=July 6, 2015 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 6, 2024|title=Exit poll results 2024|url=https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0|access-date=November 6, 2024|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

[[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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trump gained some minority voters, but the GOP is hardly a multiracial coalition |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/trump-gained-some-minority-voters-but-the-gop-is-hardly-a-multiracial-coalition/ |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Religious communities ====
{{main|Religion and politics in the United States|Bible Belt}}
{{see also|The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and politics in the United States}}
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.<ref>To some extent the [[United States Supreme Court]] decision ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' (1973) caused American Christians to blur their historical division along the line between Catholics and Protestants and instead to realign as conservatives or liberals, irrespective of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation Era]] distinction.</ref> Voters who attended church weekly gave 61% of their votes to Bush in [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]; those who attended occasionally gave him only 47%; and those who never attended gave him 36%. Fifty-nine percent of Protestants voted for Bush, along with 52% of Catholics (even though [[John Kerry]] was Catholic). 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]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/15/mormons-want-to-save-the-republican-partys-soul-but-is-it-too-late|title=Mormons want to save the Republican party's soul. But is it too late?|first=J. Oliver|last=Conroy|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 15, 2018|access-date=May 7, 2020|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109035828/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/15/mormons-want-to-save-the-republican-partys-soul-but-is-it-too-late|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/11/29/most-mormons-voted/|title=Most Mormons voted Republican in the midterms—but their Trump approval rating continues to decline, study finds|first1=Hannah|last1=Fingerhut|first2=Brady|last2=McCombs|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|date=November 29, 2018|access-date=May 7, 2020|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111065741/https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2018/11/29/most-mormons-voted/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-08 |title=A 'blue trickle' against the red wave? Utah may skew slightly to the left |url=https://www.fox13now.com/news/politics/a-blue-trickle-against-the-red-wave-utah-may-skew-slightly-to-the-left |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=FOX 13 News Utah (KSTU) |language=en}}</ref>
 
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.<ref name="Sales-Adkins-2020">{{cite news|work=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]|title='I think it's Israel': How Orthodox Jews became Republicans|date=February 3, 2020|url=https://www.jta.org/2020/02/03/politics/i-think-its-israel-how-orthodox-jews-became-republicans|access-date=June 12, 2020|archive-date=January 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115111043/https://www.jta.org/2020/02/03/politics/i-think-its-israel-how-orthodox-jews-became-republicans|url-status=live}}</ref> Over 70% of Orthodox Jews identify as Republican or Republican leaning as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hanau |first=Shira |date=May 11, 2021 |title=New Pew study shows 75% of Orthodox Jews identify as Republicans, up from 57% in 2013 |url=https://www.jta.org/2021/05/11/united-states/new-pew-study-shows-75-of-orthodox-jews-identify-as-republicans-up-from-57-in-2013 |access-date=November 23, 2022 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US |archive-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108140806/https://www.jta.org/2021/05/11/united-states/new-pew-study-shows-75-of-orthodox-jews-identify-as-republicans-up-from-57-in-2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> An exit poll conducted by the [[Associated Press]] for 2020 found 35% of [[Muslims]] voted for Donald Trump.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/11/03/929478378/understanding-the-2020-electorate-ap-votecast-survey|title=Understanding The 2020 Electorate: AP VoteCast Survey|work=[[NPR]]|date=November 3, 2020|access-date=November 17, 2020|archive-date=February 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219064318/https://www.npr.org/2020/11/03/929478378/understanding-the-2020-electorate-ap-votecast-survey|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1791/2010-midterm-elections-exit-poll-religion-vote|title=Religion in the 2010 Elections|publisher=Pew Research Center|date=November 3, 2010|access-date=January 30, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206111210/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1791/2010-midterm-elections-exit-poll-religion-vote|archive-date=February 6, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lee|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/18/politics/pope-encyclical-climate-change-catholic-republicans/|title=Pope hands GOP climate change dilemma|work=[[CNN]]|date=June 18, 2015|access-date=July 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705234555/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/18/politics/pope-encyclical-climate-change-catholic-republicans/|archive-date=July 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Pope Francis]]' 2015 encyclical {{lang|it|[[Laudato si']]}} sparked a discussion on the positions of Catholic Republicans in relation to the positions of the Church.
The Pope's encyclical on behalf of the Catholic Church officially acknowledges a man-made climate change caused by burning fossil fuels.<ref>Thomas Reese, [http://ncronline.org/blogs/faith-and-justice/readers-guide-laudato-si "A readers' guide to 'Laudato Si'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630145312/http://ncronline.org/blogs/faith-and-justice/readers-guide-laudato-si |date=June 30, 2015 }}, ''National Catholic Register'', June 26, 2015.</ref> The Pope says the warming of the planet is rooted in a throwaway culture and the developed world's indifference to the destruction of the planet in pursuit of short-term economic gains. According to ''The New York Times'', Laudato si put pressure on the Catholic candidates in the 2016 election: [[Jeb Bush]], [[Bobby Jindal]], [[Marco Rubio]] and [[Rick Santorum]].<ref name=davenport>{{cite news|first=Caral|last=Davenport|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/us/politics/popes-views-press-gop-on-climate-change.html|title=Pope's Views on Climate Change Add Pressure to Catholic Candidates|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 16, 2015|access-date=February 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519063735/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/us/politics/popes-views-press-gop-on-climate-change.html|archive-date=May 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

With leading Democrats praising the encyclical, James Bretzke, a professor of moral theology at [[Boston College]], has said that both sides were being disingenuous: "I think it shows that both the Republicans and the Democrats&nbsp;... like to use religious authority and, in this case, the Pope to support positions they have arrived at independently&nbsp;... There is a certain insincerity, hypocrisy I think, on both sides".<ref>{{cite news|first=Brian|last=Fraga|url=http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/political-role-reversal-democrats-praise-encyclical-while-gop-remains-cauti/#ixzz3f7S3YpSv|title=Political Role Reversal: Democrats Praise Encyclical, While GOP Remains Cautious|newspaper=National Catholic Register|date=June 26, 2015|access-date=December 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227043512/http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/political-role-reversal-democrats-praise-encyclical-while-gop-remains-cauti#ixzz3f7S3YpSv|archive-date=February 27, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> While a Pew Research poll indicates Catholics are more likely to believe the Earth is warming than non-Catholics, 51% of Catholic Republicans believe in global warming (less than the general population) and only 24% of Catholic Republicans believe global warming is caused by human activity.<ref>{{cite news|title=Catholics Divided Over Global Warming|work=Pew Research|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/06/16/catholics-divided-over-global-warming/|date=June 16, 2015|access-date=July 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708154543/http://www.pewforum.org/2015/06/16/catholics-divided-over-global-warming/|archive-date=July 8, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Members of the business community ====
The Republican Party has traditionally been a pro-business party. It garners major support from a wide variety of industries from the financial sector to small [[businesses]]. Republicans are 24 percent more likely to be business owners than Democrats.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2016/10/12/study-republicans-are-24-percent-more-likely-than-democrats-to-be-business-owners/|title=Study: Republicans are 24 percent more likely than Democrats to be business owners|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=October 12, 2018}}</ref> Prominent business [[lobbying group]]s such as the [[United States Chamber of Commerce|U.S. Chamber of Commerce]] and [[National Association of Manufacturers]] have traditionally supported Republican candidates and economic policies.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-gang-that-couldnt-lob_b_839047|title=The Gang That Couldn't Lobby Straight|newspaper=[[HuffPost]]|first=Bill|last=McKibben|date=March 22, 2011|access-date=February 26, 2023|archive-date=February 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226191446/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-gang-that-couldnt-lob_b_839047|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://waysandmeans.house.gov/chairman-brady-marks-six-months-of-tax-reform-wins/ |title=Chairman Brady Marks Six Months of Tax Reform Wins – Ways and Means |access-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-date=December 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222090755/https://waysandmeans.house.gov/chairman-brady-marks-six-months-of-tax-reform-wins/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although both major parties support [[capitalism]], the Republican Party is more likely to favor [[private property]] rights (including [[intellectual property]] rights) than the Democratic Party over competing interests such as [[environmentalism|protecting the environment]] or lowering [[medication costs]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/551769-house-republicans-urge-opposition-to-vaccine-patent-waiver/|title=House Republicans urge opposition to vaccine patent waiver|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|date=May 4, 2021|access-date=June 4, 2021|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512162834/https://thehill.com/homenews/house/551769-house-republicans-urge-opposition-to-vaccine-patent-waiver|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-republicans-vote-overturn-biden-rule-water-protections-rcna74317|title=House Republicans vote to overturn Biden rule on water protections|website=[[NBC News]]|date=March 10, 2023|access-date=March 10, 2023|archive-date=March 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310130746/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-republicans-vote-overturn-biden-rule-water-protections-rcna74317|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/1/10/2016_Republican_Party_Platform.pdf|title=Republican Party Platform 2016|access-date=October 12, 2018|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205210641/https://ballotpedia.s3.amazonaws.com/images/1/10/2016_Republican_Party_Platform.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

A survey cited by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in 2012 found that 61 percent of small business owners planned to vote for Republican presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]] in the [[2012 United States presidential election|2012 presidential election]]. Small business became a major theme of the [[2012 Republican National Convention]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/small-business-a-common-theme-at-republican-convention/2012/08/30/62997f8e-f275-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html|title=Small business a common theme at Republican Convention|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=J. D.|last=Harrison|date=August 30, 2012|access-date=April 17, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328070655/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-08-30/business/35493960_1_small-business-business-owners-plan-small-companies|archive-date=March 28, 2013}}</ref>