Since Donald Trump won the presidential election of 2016 and sent a Republican back to the White House for the first time since 2008, the GOP has struggled in subsequent federal elections. In 2018, Democrats crushed congressional republicans across the nation and the progressive party romped in suburban areas that had historically been Republican leaning regions. In 2020, the party lost the White House, failed to regain the House of Representatives and lost the Senate. In 2022, while the party did manage to narrowly reclaim control of the House of Representatives, they fell short once again in the senate and underachieved in a midterm cycle that was predicted by many to be favorable to the party.
For some reason, many Americans are wary of the national Republican party. This may be due to the fact that over the last decade, it has proven to be increasingly unpopular amongst younger voters who tend to be socially and economically progressive. The conservative party appeals largely to older, white Americans- a population demographic that continues to decline as an overall percentage. Another perception that many Americans may hold of the GOP is that they cannot govern. This has been proven to be true many times- from 2016 to 2018, the party had full control of both the legislative branch and the executive. Despite this, they failed to deliver any real lasting legislation or meet much of their agenda.
In October, Republicans proved this point once again after removing Kevin McCarthy from the speakership- an unprecedented event in American history. Eight Republican lawmakers sided with Democrats to orchestrate the debacle. After weeks of debate and chaos, Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana was elected as speaker. A resolution was passed declaring congressional support for Israel. While domestic conditions continues to deteriorate, the federal Congress continues to remain incompetent at best and detrimental at worst to the well-being of the citizens they are supposed to represent.
