Republican Party (Jonathia)

The Republican Party, also known as the GOP (Grand Old Party), is a Jonathian political party. It is the oldest surviving political party in Jonathia. It's current leader, since August 2022, is Mike Pence.
The GOP was founded in 1922 as the first ever Jonathian political party. The party supported classical liberalism, opposed the expansion of slavery, and supported economic reform. Graham Follings, the party's founder, was the first Republican prime minister. The 1923 election would be the first election where the Republicans would gain seats, and have since been the party to have the longest presence in parliament. Following the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the party's core base began to shift, with western states becoming more reliably Republican in politics. The party's 21st-century base of support includes people living in rural areas, men, the Silent Generation, and white evangelical Christians.
The Republican Party was originally one of the largest parties, then in 1997 became one of the two major contemporary political parties in Jonathia, along with it's main rival, the Liberal Party. However, the 2021 election saw a dismal result for the Republicans, and after winning only ten seats in parliament, the worst the party had seen in years, it was relegated to a third party status. The party's seat count shrunk to six after multiple Republican members broke off to form the Jonathian Party. The party continued to drop in popularity until mid-2022, when party leader Donald Trump was voted out in a vote of no confidence, and replaced with his deputy, Mike Pence.
== Name ==
The Republican Party's name has been a source of confusion in Jonathia. The party's original name was going to be the Grand Old Party, as had been designated through a vote by the party's members. However, then-party leader Graham Follings did not like the name, saying that it made the party look "too conservative". The name he preferred, the Republican Party, was inspired by the Jetzeburg Republican Party, of which he had been a part of prior to Jonathian unification.
The two names were used in tandem with each other, though the Republican Party name was more commonly used. The name "Grand Old Party" has fallen out of use among Jonathian citizens, though the party still uses it in party documents.
== History ==
Category:Political parties
Category:Political parties in Jonathia
Category:Jonathia
Category:Republican Party of Jonathia
Category:Politics