We've been asking if the GOP is dead since at least 1936

"The end of the GOP" is nothing new.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The Republican Party might find good use for that old Mark Twain quote: "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." For while many are currently lamenting the demise of the GOP, it turns out such concerns are nothing new — Gallup has been asking if this is the end of the GOP since 1936:

In December 1936, Dr. George Gallup — founder and then director of the American Institute of Public Opinion, the forerunner of the Gallup poll — asked a national sample of Americans, "Do you think the Republican Party is dead?" Fortunately for the GOP, just 27 percent thought it was; although, in a follow-up question, only 31 percent believed it would win the next presidential election. [Gallup]

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.