Survey Finds GOP’s Newest Members Hold Views That Are Both Progressive and Antisemitic

Is the future of the Republican Party … antisemitic Democrats? That’s the question arising from a new Manhattan Institute survey on the GOP that suggests the Republican Party’s newest members hold views that would surprise traditional conservatives — including support for progressive policies and higher rates of self-reported antisemitism. The survey, released on Monday, presents a stark divide within the GOP between long-standing members and recent arrivals. These “New Entrant Republicans” — many of whom joined during the Trump era — comprise roughly 30 percent of the party and hold positions on foreign and domestic policy that more closely resemble the left than traditional conservatism.Compared to core Republicans, these newer members are “more supportive of left-leaning economic policies, more favorable toward China, more critical of Israel, and more liberal on issues ranging from migration to DEI initiatives,” according to the survey. When asked whether to close deficits through spending cuts or higher taxes, they preferred raising taxes — a position at odds with decades of Republican orthodoxy.Troublingly, a significant share of the cohort reports “openly racist or antisemitic views and express potential support for political violence.” They are also more likely than longstanding Republicans to embrace conspiracy theories, including claims that the September 11 attacks were orchestrated by America or that historians have exaggerated the Holocaust.“The newer voters who entered the coalition under Trump aren’t ideologically consistent paleoconservative populists — they’re all over the map politically, often more progressive across major policy areas, yet also more conspiratorial and — among a considerable number — more tolerant of bigotry,” the report’s author and the vice president of external affairs at the Manhattan Institute, Jesse Arm, tells the Sun.By contrast, the “Core Republicans” identified by the Manhattan Institute—who make up two-thirds of the party and have voted Republican for years—are consistently conservative on economics, foreign policy, and social issues. They also overwhelmingly reject racism and antisemitism while expressing strong support for Israel.The findings arrive as Republicans prepare for crucial midterm elections next year and begin contemplating what a post-Trump GOP might look like. Recent fractures within the coalition — from the fallout between President Trump and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene over the Epstein files and Israel policy, to the clash at the Heritage Foundation over its support for Tucker Carlson after he platformed a Holocaust denier — have intensified these discussions.Concerns about the party’s direction have been further fueled by the rising popularity of Nick Fuentes, a 27-year-old right-wing influencer who openly espouses white supremacist and antisemitic views. The leak in October of racist and antisemitic messages from a group chat between Young Republican chapter leaders further roiled the base.These developments have prompted conservative commentators and policy analysts to question whether the Manhattan Institute survey confirms their fears. Journalist Armin Rosen, a staff writer at the Jewish conservative magazine Tablet, concluded that “new Republicans are really just liberals who don’t like Jews.”A senior policy analyst at Heritage, Daniel Flesch, who also manages the foundation’s antisemitism taskforce, shared on X his key takeaway that “’New Entrants’ to the GOP are NOT conservative.” Mr. Flesch thus predicted that the party’s big challenge moving forward will be to “sufficiently engage” and “educate” the new coalition members on conservative values and policies.“If it fails to do so and does not cast them out, then the GOP will go the way of the Democrats when they allowed Democratic Socialists” into their ranks, Mr. Flesch wrote, citing figures like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani.Mr. Arm views the findings as presenting “both an opportunity and a vulnerability for Republicans,” he tells the Sun. “The core of the party remains older, more traditionally conservative on policy matters, and firmly opposed to racism and antisemitism. The real challenge for the Right is to keep its coalition grounded in order, strength, and seriousness rather than letting the most chaotic voices with ulterior incentives define the movement.”

Survey Finds GOP’s Newest Members Hold Views That Are Both Progressive and Antisemitic

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