Has the GOP's culture war been for naught?
If culture war fodder doesn't win voters, where do Republicans go next?


Republican lawmakers have become increasingly focused on waging conservative culture wars. Over the past year, the GOP has racked up several wins surrounding issues such as abortion care and reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and parents' rights over school curriculums.
After the revocation of Roe v. Wade, several red-state legislatures have been able to pass more restrictive abortion bans. Last month, Republicans successfully passed a law restricting drag performances on public property in Tennessee, and others are taking aim at gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Conservatives have also turned their sights to public school classrooms, universities, and public libraries. GOP-run states are passing widespread book bans, lambasting critical race theory, and placing restrictions on what sports trans students are allowed to play.
Legislative wins aside, some question whether Republicans' cultural crusade will work for them in the long run, as many of their measures appear unpopular among the general public. For instance, since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, polls show "public opinion on abortion in the U.S. has moved sharply leftward," Intelligencer wrote. Are Republicans out of touch?
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.
What are the commentators saying?
Republican culture war rhetoric has flopped in school board elections, where "candidates who ran culture-war campaigns flamed out," Juan Perez Jr. writes for Politico. The outcomes have "major implications for 2024" and should also "serve as a renewed warning to Republican presidential hopefuls like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis," Perez adds. "General election voters are less interested in crusades against critical race theory and transgender students than they are in funding schools and ensuring they are safe."
Ryan Girdusky, the founder of the conservative political action committee 1776 Project, defended the performance of the school board candidates he endorsed, telling Politico that they "didn't get obliterated." Still, he warns conservative candidates against assuming "that a blanket message on critical race theory or transgender issues is going to claim every district," and advised that they "don't tell parents something is happening if it's not happening, because then it doesn't look like you're running a serious operation."
The controversies over abortion restrictions, book banning, and similar cultural measures "reveal how much politics has become an intergenerational battle, with older traditionalists against younger progressives," David Hopkins opines at Bloomberg. Social issues that "divide voters along generational lines have become more central to the nation's political debates," Hopkins adds. He finds it "hard to imagine" that the GOP can successfully sway more young voters "by treating young adults' political views with contempt or characterizing them as gullible victims of liberal brainwashing."
As Republican presidential hopefuls prepare for 2024, "the fact that one cannot win a GOP primary without titillating culture-war addicts is undermining the party's prospects for winning the next general election," Eric Levitz comments in Intelligencer. Republicans fare better when they focus on economic concerns, Levitz adds, and each day "that the GOP's 2024 hopefuls display more concern with 'Marxist' educators than with high prices brings Joe Biden one step closer to re-election."
What's next for the GOP?
After a lukewarm performance in the midterms, Republicans are shifting their focus to who will represent them in the 2024 presidential race. Top possible GOP contenders for the White House "are increasingly focused on battles around LGBTQ issues and education," ABC News writes, "a dynamic that political operatives say is likely only to intensify in the lead up to next year's election."
One issue that has garnered a lot of attention among the prospective primary contenders is transgender rights. After the Supreme Court codified same-sex marriage, The New York Times says, "social conservatives were set adrift." Attempts to curtail transgender rights have "reinvigorated a network of conservative groups, increased fund-raising and set the agenda in school boards and state legislatures." the Times adds. Next year's election "appears poised to provide a national test of the reach of this issue." After some blamed the midterm losses on the focus on social issues, "it may prove easier for Republicans … to talk about transgender issues than about abortion, an issue that has been a mainstay of the conservative movement."
"For many religious and political conservatives, the same-sex marriage issue has been largely decided — and for the American public, absolutely," Kelsy Burke, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, told the Times. "That's not true when it comes to these transgender issues. Americans are much more divided, and this is an issue that can gain a lot more traction."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Pam Bondi, retirement planning, and more
By The Week US
-
5 heavy-handed cartoons about ICE and deportation
Cartoons Artists take on international students, the Supreme Court, and more
By The Week US
-
Exploring the three great gardens of Japan
The Week Recommends Beautiful gardens are 'the stuff of Japanese landscape legends'
By The Week UK
-
Why the GOP is nervous about Ken Paxton's Senate run
Today's Big Question A MAGA-establishment battle with John Cornyn will be costly
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
13 potential 2028 presidential candidates for both major parties
In Depth A rare open primary for both parties has a large number of people considering a run for president
By David Faris
-
DOGE: Have we passed 'peak Musk'?
Feature The tech billionaire suffered a costly week after a $25 million election loss in Wisconsin and Tesla's largest sale drop on record
By The Week US
-
Abortion protests: is free speech in retreat?
Talking Point The conviction of 64-year-old Livia Tossici-Bolt for breaching abortion clinic 'buffer zone' has made her the unlikely focus of a transatlantic row over free speech
By The Week UK
-
Could Trump's tariff war be his undoing with the GOP?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The catastrophic effects of the president's 'Liberation Day' tariffs might create a serious wedge between him and the rest of the Republican party
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Is Elon Musk's DOGE job coming to an end?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Plummeting popularity, a stinging electoral defeat and Tesla's shrinking market share could be pulling the tech billionaire out of Trump's presidential orbit
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Do rowdy town halls signal a GOP backlash?
Today's Big Question Some remorse, but Trump backers would not change their votes
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Budget: Will the GOP cut entitlements?
Feature Republicans are pushing for a budget to cut Medicaid
By The Week US