… Certainly, some grassroots Republicans, tired of the rhetoric and behavior from Trump, as well as senators like South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, Missouri’s Josh Hawley and Texas’s Ted Cruz, continue to leave the party. And some of Trump’s defenders and supporters, like his United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, are trying to reposition themselves for a post-Trump era by now criticizing the former president.
But the GOP has changed at the grassroots level over the past two decades, making it difficult for pragmatists and establishment conservatives to regain control of the party. Trump’s white, working-class message continues to resonate among rural voters, white evangelicals and whites without a college degree, who see themselves under attack. …
Indeed, the widely discussed exit over the last few years of college-educated suburban voters from the Republican Party only serves to strengthen the clout of Trump supporters inside the GOP, both at the grassroots level and among elected officials. CONTINUED
Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call