Republicans' divisions could be their midterm strength


News that the central committee of the Wyoming Republican Party narrowly voted (31-29) this weekend to stop recognizing Rep. Liz Cheney as a member of the GOP is hardly surprising. This is the second time her state party has rebuked her, and there have been similar moves by the Republican caucus in Congress. Cheney has loudly and repeatedly denounced former President Donald Trump's incitement of the Jan. 6 insurrection, and that is sufficient to render her radioactive.
But that doesn't mean the GOP has become a Trump-obsessed cult. It means only that directly attacking the former president is unacceptable. Short of that, a range of responses are possible — and that signals that the party remains divided.
Consider the case of Glenn Youngkin, who just won the governor's race in Virginia, a state where Joe Biden beat Trump by 10 points only a year ago. How did Youngkin do it? Not by bashing Trump, but by ignoring him whenever possible. The result was a campaign broadly continuous with the kind of race former President George W. Bush (or his vice president, Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney's father) might have run. That points to considerable continuity within the Republican Party over the past couple of decades.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But that kind of campaign wouldn't work in Wyoming, or in Arizona, where the GOP has, if anything, fallen even further down the rabbit hole of Trumpian conspiracy theorizing about stolen elections. There are plenty of deep-red House districts around the country where you need to prove yourself a fire-breathing lunatic to prevail. But there are plenty of other places (like Virginia) where such irresponsible antics will doom a candidate.
This division will serve as a strength for the GOP in the 2022 midterms, just as Democratic fissures separating progressives and moderates helped fuel gains for the party in the 2018 midterms. Dividing and conquering is usually a good strategy when there's no need for the party to settle on a single ticket. Candidates can make very different appeals to very different sets of voters.
The question is what the consequences of GOP division will be in 2024, when Republicans will need to settle on a standard-bearer. If Trump runs, it looks like he will easily prevail in that contest. That will make many Republicans happy. But in the general election, will Youngkin voters pull the lever for Trump in greater numbers than they did in 2020? I doubt it — unless loathing for Biden (or whichever Democrat runs instead) holds the GOP together as effectively as hatred for Trump did for Democrats in last year's vote.
Both major parties are marked by division. And both increasingly have only negative partisanship to overcome it.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.
-
Trump uses tariffs to upend Brazil's domestic politics
IN THE SPOTLIGHT By slapping a 50% tariff on Brazil for its criminal investigation into Bolsonaro, the Trump administration is brazenly putting its fingers on the scales of a key foreign election
-
3 questions to ask when deciding whether to repair or replace your broken appliance
the explainer There may be merit to fixing what you already have, but sometimes buying new is even more cost-effective
-
'Trump's authoritarian manipulation of language'
Instant Opinion Vienna has become a 'convenient target for populists' | Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The Supreme Court and Congress have Planned Parenthood in their crosshairs
Talking Points Trump's budget bill and the court's ruling threaten abortion access
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
How successful would Elon Musk's third party be?
Today's Big Question Musk has vowed to start a third party after falling out with Trump
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Is Trump's military parade 'just a parade'?
Talking Point Critics see an 'echo of authoritarianism'
-
Is Trump's LA troop deployment about order or authoritarianism?
Talking Points President: 'We're going to have troops everywhere.'
-
Musk: What did he achieve in Washington?
Feature Elon Musk leaves his government job but not after bruising his image, slashing aid and firing thousands