Is the Republican coalition more ideologically diverse than the Democratic coalition?

[WalterWhite]

Gun control: https://civiqs.com/results/gun_control?uncertainty=true&annotations=true&zoomIn=true&net=true
Abortion: https://civiqs.com/results/abortion_legal?uncertainty=true&annotations=true&zoomIn=true&net=true
Environment: https://civiqs.com/results/environment_protect?uncertainty=true&annotations=true&zoomIn=true&net=true
Tax increases for wealthy: https://civiqs.com/results/raise_taxes_wealthy?uncertainty=true&annotations=true&zoomIn=true&net=true
Medicare for All: https://civiqs.com/results/medicare_for_all?uncertainty=true&annotations=true&zoomIn=true&net=true
2022 exit polls: https://www.cnn.com/election/2022/exit-polls/national-results/house/0

Democratic causes are generally more popular than Republican causes. Issue polling and exit polling indicate that on social issues, such as abortion and gun control, the progressive side of the issue (fewer abortion restrictions and more gun control) is more popular than the conservative side of the issue (more abortion restrictions and less gun control).

Issue polling also suggests that economically progressive ideas, such as stricter environmental regulations, higher taxes for the wealthy, and even Medicare for All (!) are popular.

Naïvely, this should mean Democratic dominance, yet most elections are fairly competitive. Could this be because the Republican coalition is actually more ideologically moderate than the Democratic coalition? Could it be that the Republican Party attracts people with either conservative social views or conservative economic views, whereas the Democratic Party only attracts people with both progressive social and economic views?

According to the Pew Research Center, there is one group in the Republican coalition that has significant ideological differences from the establishment Republican Party: the Ambivalent Right, which has significantly more moderate politics than the rest of the Republican Party. On the other hand, no political typology group within the Democratic coalition (Progressive Left, Outsider Left, Establishment Liberals, or Democratic Mainstays) differs significantly from the establishment Democratic Party on social or economic issues. There is reason to believe that there are many young people Republicans (who make up most of the Ambivalent Right) who diverge from the Republican Party line on many issues. For what it is worth, the Atlas Political Matrix Test also lists the average Republican as closer to the center on social and economic issues than the average Democrat.

Anecdotally, I have heard some Republicans of a libertarian bend say things along the lines of "I believe people should be free to live their lives without harming others, but I simply cannot support the Democratic agenda of big government"; I have also heard some Republicans of a more economically moderate bend say things along the lines of "I believe the rich should pay more in taxes and the government should be more involved in helping ordinary Americans, but I simply cannot support the woke Democratic agenda that is out to destroy family values". I have never encountered a Democrat that was in support of cutting social welfare programs or rolling back protections for the LGBT and for racial minorities; in other words, I have never come across a Democrat of a libertarian bend or of an economically moderate/right-wing bend. Is the Republican coalition more ideologically diverse than the Democratic coalition?

[The Economy is Getting Worse]

While I think the Republican Party is bigger tent than the Democratic Party right now, I also think that there are some Democrats that buck their party on some issues. For example, I know some pro-life Democrats.

[WalterWhite]

I think Republican rhetoric has also been part of the reason for the broader ideological diversity within the Republican Party as opposed to the Democratic Party.

The Republican has branded Democratic economic policies as "socialist" and Democratic social policies as "anti-family values". This courts socially progressive but economically conservative voters to the Republicans because they want to avoid voting for a "socialist" party, and this also courts economically progressive but socially conservative voters to the Republicans they want to avoid voting for an "anti-family values" party.