Date of Award

Spring 2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Political Science and International Relations

First Advisor

Michael Genovese

Abstract

The election of Donald Trump appeared to be a rejection of Republican orthodoxy. That someone who targeted the previous idols of Republican beliefs about free trade, protectionism, immigration, and welfare could have so completely won over the Republican voter base was notable. However, that Republican base had changed substantially since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. Where white college graduates have traditionally voted more Republican, and those without a college degree were more Democratic in this era, this dynamic had switched by 2016. In this thesis, I ask two questions: First, how has the Republican Party changed its ideological and policy stances from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump? Second, to what extent have changes in the electorate driven this change? This paper will be a longitudinal study of the changing trends of the Republican Party through its platforms and help expand on the scholarship of how changes in the electorate impact policy stances. Is there a future for the cult of personality of the Republican Party post-Donald Trump?

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