The old die and the young get older. How will generational change affect the Republican party? Now I'm not talking about how the general population changing will affect its ability to win, I'm more talking about within the party itself.
Polls show that Trump consistently does much better with younger Republican primary voters than DeSantis, and vice versa. Younger GOP voters are more likely to be more moderate on social issues, but at the same time are more likely than older Republicans to be invested in the sorts of culture war battles that often begin online.
They are less economically hardliner than older Republicans, and notably they are WAY more isolationist/non-interventionist than older Republicans, having a massive polling divide over Ukraine aid.
Overall with generational change, the party seems to be heading in a more moderate direction in some ways, but a more Trumpy and populist direction in others.
How do you think this will affect the party heading into the future?
I think both parties will become more populist and shift to the left. The Democrats will become staunchly progressive, and the Republicans will become social and economic moderates. I also think both parties will become more isolationist. Neo-conservatism is a political loser nowadays. The Cold War-era fears of socialism are slowly dying as the new generation embraces more left-wing policies. With neither party championing right-wing politics, a third party would pick up the reigns of conservatism, and we could see a legitimate third party forming.
Essentially, the Democrats become the party of progressives, the Republicans become the party of moderates, and this third party (Constitution most likely) becomes the party of conservatives.
However, what will change is the old maxim that Republicans fall in line and that Democrats fall in love. In the future, the exact opposite will be true: Democrats will fall in line, and Republicans will fall in love.
