The Republican Party needs to come to terms with its growing diversity
Is Usha Vance going to hell? That question is probably going to be asked to Vice President JD Vance at some point as he gears up for a potential presidential run in 2028. Is it offensive? Yes. Is it necessary to know before you can elect someone to run the country?
No. But, as the Republican Party continues to diversify while also courting Christian nationalists and (let’s be honest) white nationalists, those types of questions will probably be asked at Turning Point USA campus debates and candidate question and answers over the next few years.
The Republican Party needs to come to terms with the fact that it has done a wonderful job of diversifying its party to win elections. But at some point, it also needs to truly embrace how diverse it has become.
Over the last week, videos have been circulating of JD Vance explaining his interfaith marriage to a Turning Point crowd. We also see Vivek Ramaswamy give an impassioned defense of his Hindu faith and of our Founding Fathers devout secularism when questioned about religion in America. Republicans have given little pushback to the Islamophobic insults leveled at New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, with some of them (including Vance) even piling on.
But right across the Hudson River in New Jersey, a Muslim rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli drew fire when a Muslim campaign volunteer promised to upend same sex marriage if Ciattarelli wins. How would that affect Scott Bessent, our Treasury secretary, who is openly gay, married, and has two children? Is self-avowed Christian nationalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) going to defend Bessent’s marriage or take the side of Muslim Republicans?
Will Ramaswamy lose Republican voters in his gubernatorial run because of his faith? And how will JD Vance, who has hyped up his Catholicism just about everywhere, explain to Christian voters why he married a woman whose salvation, according to his religion, is at least unlikely?
And you thought the Democrats had problems.
As much as it pains Democrats to say this, it is absolutely great that Republicans are finding voters in many different demographics. It is great that demographic groups are not monolithic and have natural political differences. The Republicans have made massive inroads with Latino voters, Asian voters, and even Muslim voters. When you look at who is ascending the ranks of the Republican Party, you see the children of immigrants, gay and transgender Americans, non-Christians, and non-white politicians.
This is a win not just for Republican efforts to grow the party, but it is a win for America in general. The fact that so many different people are turning to conservatism means that people are assimilating into, being accepted by, and participating in American society. It is exactly what we talk about when we say melting pot.
Republicans’ problem is that they have a chunk of their electorate that does not want candidates who are children of immigrants, non-Christian or even non-white running for office. The Republican embrace of Christian nationalism, from Charlie Kirk to Marjorie Taylor Greene, puts candidates like Vance in a bind.
Vance has made his journey to Catholicism very clear, bringing it up just about everywhere and even lecturing the pope on what a Catholic is. And while he and his wife are raising their children Catholic, his marriage seems to conflict with his overtures to Christian nationalists. Vance gas even expressed hopes that his wife becomes a Christian at some point and changes her mind about the interfaith union they both agreed to.
Will Ramaswamy have his own “road to Damascus” moment during his gubernatorial run? Will Republicans decide that religiously conservative Muslim Americans aren’t the type of religious conservatives whose votes they want?
Even more concerning for Republicans is that, while rapidly diversifying their electorate, they also diversified into a group that hates diversity. Let us call it like it is: President Trump and company did appeal to the worst of America because they needed to make that deal to get into power. And some of those people are now sitting too close to the president.
Stephen Miller and Laura Loomer have made their intentions clear about what they see as the future makeup of this country. Maybe Miller sees FBI Director Kash Patel, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and other diverse Republicans as a means to an end, but they won’t be in charge in the end. Loomer and firebrands like Nick Fuentes have bought a rhetoric so vile, that it is an obvious liability for any Republican looking to gain power after Trump.
Democrats are on the back foot when it comes to diversity because they assume every non-white and non-Christian demographic will vote as a bloc like Black Americans do. This completely discounts the journey of Black Americans, while also not understanding just how different every demographic is. Most importantly, Democrats repeatedly fail to see that every group wants to come here and become part of the mainstream, not a “marginalized group.”
Republicans understand that and have driven wedges into just about every demographic that the Democrats have tried to silo. Their ranks will thus continue to swell as America diversifies, but at some point, there must be a reckoning. Do they continue to try to appease Christian and white nationalists who see Trumpism as a way to reclaim some lost utopia that actually never existed? Or do they move forward and embrace the diversity that truly is in line with America? We will see the answer to that soon, as Vance continues to dance around his commitment to his wife’s faith.
Jos Joseph is a recipient of the Military Reporters and Editors award for Best Commentary/Opinion. He is a graduate of Harvard University and Ohio State University. He is also a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. He currently lives in Anaheim, Calif.