This summer marked the end of an era in American Christianity. Within weeks of each other, pastor John MacArthur and psychologist James Dobson, two of the most influential evangelical leaders of the past half-century, passed away. MacArthur died on July 14 at the age of 86, followed by his friend Dobson on August 21 at 89. Their distinct but complementary approaches to faith and culture reshaped churches, families, and politics in profound ways.
Both men launched their ministries into the national spotlight in 1977, debuting radio programs at a time when evangelical broadcasting was entering a golden age. MacArthur’s verse-by-verse exposition of Scripture with &#8220;Grace to You&#8221; and Dobson’s biblical counsel on marriage and parenting with &#8220;Focus on the Family&#8221; would eventually reach tens of millions of households across the globe.
Troy Miller, president of the National Religious Broadcasters, told The Daily Wire that both men not only mastered radio but also foresaw the digital transition. “They were pioneers in adopting MP3s, moving into podcasts, and building digital platforms,” Miller said. “Grace to You and Focus on the Family became models for how to keep Christian teaching at the center of new technologies. And part of the legacy that these two men are going to leave was their insistence on being quality communicators, whatever the medium. Both of them worked very hard at their communication skills, whether it be preaching, speaking at conferences, or on the radio. They set the bar.”
<h3>Two Vocations, One Foundation</h3>
Although their ministries often intersected, MacArthur and Dobson took distinct paths to engaging culture. While the two men held the same positions on life, marriage, and sexuality, MacArthur avoided joining political coalitions, famously declining to sign the Manhattan Declaration, a 2009 statement that affirmed the sanctity of life and traditional marriage, because of his doctrinal differences with some of the statement’s authors.
Dobson, in contrast, leaned into politics. Not only was he one of the Manhattan Declaration’s most prominent signatories, in 1995, he also founded the Family Research Council, a Washington-based policy group that quickly became a central voice in the religious right.
Miller said the difference came down to vocation, not conviction. “John MacArthur understood he was a pastor,” he said. “That was his primary calling in life. And as a shepherd, his deepest desire was for people to understand the Word of God better. His expository preaching and teaching, his commentaries, his books were all meant to bring people closer to God. Dr. Dobson understood he was a psychologist. So he was concerned about culture and where culture was headed as a psychologist. They took these two different approaches, but behind both of them was a biblical foundation.”
Grace to You executive director Phil Johnson, who worked closely with MacArthur for more than 40 years, echoed that assessment. “John was always clear that he wasn’t opposed to political involvement by Christians and that there are Christians who are called to all sorts of vocations, including politics.” 
Dobson used his political vocation to tremendous effect.
Political science professor Hunter Baker, who first met Dobson while working as a religious liberty lobbyist, pointed out that by the late 1990s, the radio host had begun to eclipse the influence of the Moral Majority’s Jerry Falwell and the Christian Coalition’s Pat Robertson, in part, due to his academic credentials.
“Robertson and Falwell were essentially televangelists, and they had their influence. But then comes James Dobson. And a lot of people don&#8217;t remember this, but Dobson had an appointment at the USC Medical School as a child psychologist. He was there for 14 years in a very prestigious sort of position.” That credibility allowed Dobson to gain a hearing with audiences that would be less likely to tune into Robertson’s 700 Club or Falwell’s Old-Time Gospel Hour.
After he grew Focus on the Family into a cultural juggernaut, his mobilization of his Christian listeners helped secure the Republican Party’s transformation into a staunchly pro-life party.
“People want to think the Republican Party has always been this great pro-life party,” Baker said, “but Ronald Reagan was really the first one to decisively move in that direction. Yet his advisors were constantly wanting him to take pro-life rhetoric out of his speeches. And so that&#8217;s the Republican Party that Dobson was dealing with in the 90s. And in the late 1990s, Dobson, in his frustration, said, ‘I&#8217;m going to leave this party and I&#8217;m going to take as many people with me as I can.’ That was a threat that could not be ignored.”
<div id="attachment_969125" style="width: 898px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969125" class="size-large wp-image-969125" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688-888x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON - MAY 03: Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family (L), shakes hands with U.S. President George W. Bush (R) as Dobson's wife, Shirley Dobson, looks on during the National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House May 3, 2007 in Washington, DC. The program included prayers and meditations from Christian and Jewish leaders and a performance by the US Army Chorus. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)" width="888" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688-888x576.jpg 888w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688-300x195.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688-768x498.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-74058688.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 888px) 100vw, 888px" />Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</div>
After Dobson took his stand, Baker said, the GOP was forced to commit to the sanctity of life as a key issue. “I would argue that was really decisive. In 2008, even though he was the tremendously popular former mayor of New York City and viewed as a hero of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani got nowhere in that Republican primary process. Why? Because he would not become pro-life in order to run. Then, in 2012, Mitt Romney, who had previously been pro-choice, ran as a pro-life Republican. And I really put all of that at the feet of James Dobson more than anybody else.”
In 2016, Dobson would endorse Donald Trump at a time when few Christian leaders were willing to, helping to shore up Trump’s evangelical support that was vital to winning the election.
<h3>Standing Firm in Cultural Storms</h3>
Though MacArthur resisted joining formal political movements, when politics encroached on the church, he, too, did not hesitate to take a stand.
In 2018, when social justice and critical theory were infiltrating churches and ministries, MacArthur, just as he’d done when he publicly opposed segregation in the 1960s, spoke out. At the time, many nationally known pastors were <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/black-lives-matter-southern-baptist">promoting</a> Black Lives Matter and its <a href="https://x.com/JonathanLeeman/status/1269646035095375874">mission</a>. MacArthur, in contrast, <a href="https://statementonsocialjustice.com/">joined a statement</a> against the Marxist ideology the movement is based on, explicitly rejecting “any teaching that encourages racial groups to view themselves as privileged oppressors or entitled victims of oppression.”
<div id="attachment_138416" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138416" class="size-full wp-image-138416" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/IMG_1038.jpg" alt="John MacArthur" width="640" height="480" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/IMG_1038.jpg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/IMG_1038-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />Courtesy John MacArthur</div>
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he <a href="https://www.gracechurch.org/news/posts/2254">openly defied</a> California’s restrictions on in-person worship, telling his congregation, “Whatever this virus is, it does not overpower First Amendment rights.” One of his final public acts came in 2022 when he sent a <a href="https://www.gty.org/blogs/B220928/an-open-letter-to-governor-newsom">scathing letter</a> to Governor Gavin Newsom addressing his use of Scripture to promote abortion:
<blockquote>[Y]ou revealed to the entire nation how thoroughly rebellious against God you are when you sponsored billboards across America promoting the slaughter of children, whom He creates in the womb (Psalm 139:13–16; Isaiah 45:9–12). You further compounded the wickedness of that murderous campaign with a reprehensible act of gross blasphemy, quoting the very words of Jesus from Mark 12:31 as if you could somehow twist His meaning and arrogate His name in favor of butchering unborn infants. You used the name and the words of Christ to promote the credo of Molech (Leviticus 20:1–5). It would be hard to imagine a greater sacrilege… My concern, Governor Newsom, is that your own soul lies in grave, eternal peril.</blockquote>
Johnson said both stances were consistent with MacArthur’s lifelong approach. “He believed the church must keep its focus on the gospel. And the letter to Newsom is a classic example of that because though he&#8217;s addressing a political leader, like John the Baptist did, with a very strong &#8230; gospel appeal.”
<h3>Generational Impact</h3>
Perhaps the clearest measure of MacArthur and Dobson’s legacies lies in the generations they shaped.
MacArthur’s influence can be seen in pulpits across the country. Thousands of pastors trained at the school he founded, The Master’s Seminary, or influenced by his preaching, now carry forward his model of expository preaching. Johnson shared that in his hometown of Tulsa, he once struggled to identify churches that offered sound, biblical preaching. Today, he said, he can point to many who trace their roots to MacArthur’s ministry. “All of them are connected somehow to John MacArthur. And that&#8217;s just one city. I think the whole country has benefited from the men who&#8217;ve been sent out from Master’s Seminary and men who&#8217;ve been influenced by people who&#8217;ve been influenced by John MacArthur.”
Thirty-two-year-old Nashville pastor, Jonny Ardavanis, is one such man. He recalled MacArthur’s advice when asked how to “pick your battles.” MacArthur’s answer was simple: “I pick every battle where gospel clarity and biblical authority are at stake.” Ardavanis said that principle continues to guide his ministry, and he believes the many comparisons to Charles Spurgeon that poured out on social media at news of MacArthur’s death were apt.
“Spurgeon is known as the prince of preachers, and John MacArthur is known for championing the authority and the sufficiency and the inerrancy of God&#8217;s word. That&#8217;s one of the things that John MacArthur really pushed on to the next generation of preachers—open up the Word of God and let it speak. It&#8217;s living and active…Both fought off the liberal drift of their day. Spurgeon was known for the downgrade controversy, where, at the time, the union was drifting in regards to the inerrancy and authority of God&#8217;s word. He stood staunch against that. MacArthur was known for the lordship debate, saying ‘Hey, you can&#8217;t call Jesus your savior without calling him your Lord,’ meaning that it was a rejection of cheap grace. And so both were known for preaching, but for standing firm on issues of doctrinal clarity.”
For Dobson, too, controversy was the cost of conviction, with critics frequently accusing him of turning from family counseling to the culture war. But Baker rejects that assessment. “People say Dobson spoiled his legacy by getting political,” he said, “but what if the issue had been slavery or segregation? We wouldn’t fault someone for standing up against those. Dobson saw abortion in that same category—a fundamental issue of justice.”
As Phil Johnson put it, “[MacArthur and Dobson] were both trying to stand astride the progress of history and say, ‘Wait a minute.’ They saw that a lot of what passed for progress was actually destructive, and they weren’t afraid to fight it.”
<div id="attachment_969131" style="width: 833px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-969131" class="size-large wp-image-969131" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928-823x576.jpg" alt="PHILADELPHIA - JANUARY 8: Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, gestures while speaking at the Justice Sunday III rally on January 8, 2006 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by the Family Research Council, the rally was held one day before the start of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. (Photo by Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)" width="823" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928-823x576.jpg 823w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928-300x210.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928-768x538.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-56542928.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 823px) 100vw, 823px" />Jeff Fusco/Getty Images</div>
<h3>A Shared Legacy</h3>
Since their deaths, many of MacArthur and Dobson’s listeners have expressed a measure of fear over what will happen to American Christianity now that the men they viewed as lions of the faith have gone. But Johnson feels that’s a failure to remember what both men taught.
“I understand,” he said, “because it seems like a string of men who we respect and trust, whose voices we want to hear have died. Yet I comfort myself with Christ&#8217;s words that he&#8217;s going to build his church and the gates of hell are not going to prevail against it. So he&#8217;ll raise up new voices and new people with new courage, people who actually are standing on the shoulders of these men. We lament the loss of their voices, but we also understand that all of them believed in the sovereignty of God, that they didn&#8217;t die by mistake, and that their time is in God&#8217;s hands and their shoes will be filled by someone who maybe we don&#8217;t even know yet that the Lord will raise up.”
Their voices may now be silent, but the pastors filling pulpits trained under MacArthur and the activists inspired by Dobson testify that their influence endures.

MixCollage-05-Sep-2025-09-55-AM-3515

Lions Of The Faith: The Legacies Of John MacArthur And James Dobson

The Legacies Of John MacArthur And James Dobson: Giants Of The Faith

Bible

Christianity

Church

Focus on the Family

James Dobson

John MacArthur

Obituaries

Pro-Life Movement

Religious Liberty

Republican Party

President Donald Trump&#8217;s White House touted a list of accomplishments aimed at aiding everyday Americans and announced that this Labor Day weekend, Republicans have officially become the party of working people.
The White House released a video, shared via X with the comment, &#8220;President Trump is back, and so is MORE money in your pocket. Wages are SKYROCKETING, and American workers are winning BIG!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Trump is back, and so is MORE money in your pocket. Wages are SKYROCKETING, and American workers are winning BIG! 💸 <a href="https://t.co/UfCTuz8Ce4">pic.twitter.com/UfCTuz8Ce4</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1961898751074697620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers added, &#8220;President Trump believes that American workers are the heart and soul of our economy, which is why he’s championed an agenda that always puts them first — from signing the largest middle-class tax cuts in history to securing nearly $10 trillion in new investments to create high-paying jobs across our country. Under President Trump’s leadership, Republicans are once again the proud party of the American worker.&#8221;
The White House then listed a number of policies that had been designed to put American workers first and how they had already been implemented to make that happen.
&#8220;President Trump has already created half a million new jobs, with native-born workers accounting for ALL net jobs gains,&#8221; the statement said, adding &#8220;Hourly wages have risen, prices have come down and are holding steady, and consumer confidence is growing.&#8221;
In addition, the registration of nearly 2,000 new apprenticeship programs had opened doors for hundreds of thousands of American workers to learn new skills or improve upon those they had already learned — and the Trump administration has a stated goal of one million active apprenticeships in the near future. The Labor Department has also made it a priority to expand apprenticeship programs that are accessible to disabled veterans.
The Trump administration also touted the recent passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill and the removal of a number of regulations and small-business penalties, adding, &#8220;The Labor Department released 63 deregulatory actions to cut burdens, spur job creation, and fuel economic opportunity for American workers and businesses.&#8221;
As a final note, the White House said that new guidance had been laid out to make sure that &#8220;illegal immigrants are not allowed access to federal workforce development resources and related grants, protecting job training for American workers.&#8221;
The White House statement concluded by saying that the nearly $10 trillion in investments are &#8220;a direct result of President Trump remaking the global trading order and putting America First.&#8221;

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP

This Labor Day, Trump Says GOP Is The Party Of Workers Again

blue-collar

Donald Trump

Politics

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance is &#8220;most likely&#8221; going to be the Republican Party&#8217;s 2028 presidential nominee.
After <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-establishes-task-force-to-prepare-for-2028-olympics-in-los-angeles?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Establishes+Task+Force+To+Prepare+For+2028+Olympics+In+Los+Angeles">signing</a> more executive orders at the White House, Trump was asked by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy to give his thoughts on the 2028 race after the president said earlier on Tuesday that he would &#8220;probably not&#8221; seek a third term.
&#8220;This weekend, Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio said that he thought JD Vance would be a great nominee,&#8221; Doocy said. &#8220;You could clear the entire Republican field right now. Do you agree that the heir-apparent to MAGA is JD Vance?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I think most likely, in all fairness,&#8221; Trump replied. &#8220;He&#8217;s the vice president. I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form.&#8221;
The president, however, wasn&#8217;t ready to give a full-throated endorsement to Vance as the 2028 Republican nominee.
&#8220;I also think we have incredible people, some of the people on the stage right here, so it&#8217;s too early obviously to talk about it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But certainly, [Vance] is doing a great job, and he would be probably favored at this point.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
POTUS tells <a href="https://twitter.com/pdoocy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pdoocy</a>: JD Vance is “most likely” the next Republican nominee. <a href="https://t.co/yymVv3daud">pic.twitter.com/yymVv3daud</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1952838033096470777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
Those on stage alongside Trump included Vance, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Last week, Rubio was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-names-a-close-friend-when-pressed-about-potential-2028-presidential-run?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Names+A+%E2%80%98Close+Friend%E2%80%99+When+Pressed+About+Potential+2028+Presidential+Run">asked</a> by Fox News host and daughter-in-law of the president, Lara Trump, about the potential competitive field for the 2028 Republican presidential race.
“Well, I think JD Vance would be a great nominee,” Rubio said. “And if you know, I think if he decides he wants to do that. And so, you know, and I think he’s doing a great job as vice president. He’s a close friend. And I hope he intends to do it.”
Rubio added that he wants to stay in his role as Secretary of State &#8220;as long as the president allows me to do it &#8230; which would keep me here all the way through January of 2028.&#8221;
Multiple people in the current Trump administration are viewed as potential contenders in a 2028 Republican primary, which would be the first presidential election cycle without Trump in the race since 2012.

Trump Reveals Who Will ‘Most Likely’ Be The 2028 Republican Nominee

Election

JD Vance

Marco Rubio

Trump Administration

Firebrand Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace launched her bid for South Carolina governor on Monday, joining what&#8217;s quickly becoming a crowded field in the Palmetto State.
Mace joins Rep. Ralph Norman, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, and state senator Josh Kimbrell in the 2026 Republican primary. The congresswoman addressed her supporters at an early morning rally at her alma mater, The Citadel military college, where she announced her run for governor.
&#8220;I&#8217;m running for governor because South Carolina doesn&#8217;t need another empty suit. It needs a governor who will fight for you and your values,&#8221; Mace <a href="https://x.com/NancyMace/status/1952330227755172211">said</a>. &#8220;South Carolina needs a governor who will drag the truth into sunlight and flip the tables if that&#8217;s what it takes.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve walked into firestorms, and I&#8217;ve come out swinging,&#8221; she added.
Incumbent South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who has served since 2017,  will be term-limited from running again in the November 2026 election.
In a video Mace posted on X Monday morning, the Republican emphasized how she has drawn the ire of both Democrats and Republicans and showed clips of President Donald Trump praising her in the past.
&#8220;When she sets her sight on something, she&#8217;s tough,&#8221; Trump said of Mace.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I’m running to be the Governor of South Carolina!
God’s not done with South Carolina and neither am I. You and me. Our mission begins now.
South Carolina First. Nancy Mace for Governor.<a href="https://t.co/tkO1oN5G0W">https://t.co/tkO1oN5G0W</a> <a href="https://t.co/odvxAKfz5b">pic.twitter.com/odvxAKfz5b</a>
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) <a href="https://twitter.com/NancyMace/status/1952331263710203935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The relationship between the 47-year-old congresswoman and Trump, however, has been rocky. In 2022, Trump <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3523340-mace-defeats-trump-backed-primary-challenger-in-south-carolina/">endorsed</a> Mace&#8217;s primary opponent, Katie Arrington, after Mace <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/politics/trump-hill-republicans-move-on/index.html">said</a> that Trump&#8217;s &#8220;entire legacy was wiped out&#8221; following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Mace came out on top in the 2022 primary and secured a second term in the House. She won again in 2024 and is currently serving her third term.
Mace has focused much of her attention on fighting to keep trans-identifying men out of women&#8217;s bathrooms. She recently got in a fight over women&#8217;s bathrooms with Delaware Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride, a man who identifies as a woman. Shortly after McBride was elected, Mace introduced a resolution banning men from women&#8217;s facilities in Congress. McBride <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trans-identifying-congressman-agrees-not-to-use-female-bathrooms-after-johnson-brings-the-hammer-down?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trans-Identifying+Congressman+Agrees+Not+To+Use+Female+Bathrooms+After+Johnson+Brings+The+Hammer+Down">agreed</a> not to use women&#8217;s bathrooms on Capitol Hill after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) issued a mandate, saying, &#8220;Women deserve women’s only spaces.&#8221;
Mace is well-known on Capitol Hill for her self-assertive nature and her knack for diving into the middle of controversy.
Earlier this year, Mace made headlines when she shared what she called a &#8220;naked silhouette&#8221; of herself during a House subcommittee hearing. Mace shared the photo while addressing the subject of “Breach of Trust: Surveillance in Private Spaces.” She alleged that the image was captured without her consent, accusing four men of sexual abuse. The men, one of whom is her ex-fiance, have denied any wrongdoing.
“I would run through a brick wall to protect women and girls in South Carolina and to other potential victims, I want you to know I have your back,&#8221; Mace said during the hearing.

Nancy Mace

Nancy Mace Launches Campaign For South Carolina Governor

2026 Midterms

Elections

South Carolina

Actress Sydney Sweeney appears to be a registered Republican, according to a new report from left-wing website BuzzFeed.
BuzzFeed <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/yes-sydney-sweeney-registered-republican-131433446.html">reported</a> on Sweeney&#8217;s apparent political party affiliation on Saturday, following backlash from leftists online over a Sweeney-centered jean ad campaign. The tone of the article was seemingly to &#8220;out&#8221; or shame the actress.
The Daily Wire reviewed records that show a Sydney B. Sweeney is a registered Republican in Florida. The middle name of Sweeney, the actress, is reportedly Bernice.
Additionally, the date of registration is June 2024, the same time it was <a href="https://pagesix.com/2024/06/06/lifestyle/sydney-sweeney-buys-13-5m-oceanfront-florida-mansion/">reported</a> that the actress Sweeney purchased a 13.5 million dollar home in Summerland Key, Florida. The registration reviewed by The Daily Wire named Summerland Key as the city.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING &#8211; Leftists claim to have dug up Sydney Sweeney’s 2024 voter registration, which lists her as a registered Republican. <a href="https://t.co/OizbACfW32">pic.twitter.com/OizbACfW32</a>
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rightanglenews/status/1951457004280750345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
Some folks online raged about Sweeney apparently being a Republican. One person, for example, said on X, &#8220;She pretends to stand with women, yet votes against their rights and freedoms. Claiming solidarity while actively working against the very people she claims to support. We truly gave the spotlight to the wrong person.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
She pretends to stand with women, yet votes against their rights and freedoms. Claiming solidarity while actively working against the very people she claims to support.
We truly gave the spotlight to the wrong person.
— ؘ (@HitsAndCharts) <a href="https://twitter.com/HitsAndCharts/status/1951735089441997127?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
A critic on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/popcravenow/p/DM3YQ1EuOBM/">wrote</a>, &#8220;I have a feeling *THEY* are gonna start using her as a poster child for their beliefs and she obviously wont say no.&#8221;
&#8220;Yikes. She could have had it all. Oh well, bye,&#8221; another comment reads.
&#8220;Now I really hate her,&#8221; someone else wrote. &#8220;Before I could defend her, but now you&#8217;re just another one of the crowd, who can&#8217;t think for herself.&#8221;
Sweeney has recently been in the news over a sexy American Eagle Outfitters ad campaign about &#8220;good jeans,&#8221; which uses a play on both good genetics and blue jeans. While the Right has celebrated the ad as cheeky and non-woke, some on the Left claim it&#8217;s actually racist since Sweeney is a white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Sweeney has yet to comment on the campaign, or her political affiliation. As for American Eagle, the apparel company is standing by its marketing, as reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-eagle-refuses-to-cave-doubles-down-in-response-to-sydney-sweeney-ad?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=American+Eagle+Refuses+To+Cave%2C+Doubles+Down+In+Response+To+Sydney+Sweeney+Ad">The Daily Wire</a>.
Sweeney was already the target of left-wing ire in 2022. The actress threw a 60th birthday party for her mother, and some of the guests wore red &#8220;Make 60 Great Again&#8221; hats, in the style of &#8220;Make America Great Again&#8221; hats.
Sweeney refused to cave, defending her family and ridiculing the attempt to make the event political.
“You guys this is wild,” she posted to X. “An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention. Please stop making assumptions. Much love to everyone ♥️ and Happy Birthday Mom!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
You guys this is wild. An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention. Please stop making assumptions. Much love to everyone ♥️ and Happy Birthday Mom!
— Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney) <a href="https://twitter.com/sydney_sweeney/status/1563660155425673217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2022</a></blockquote>
Sweeney has largely refrained from speaking about her personal politics, though in 2020, she published a post supportive of Black Lives Matter.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
we need to do better. the hate in this world needs to end. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackLivesMatter</a> <a href="https://t.co/vAflcIVEgC">https://t.co/vAflcIVEgC</a>
— Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney) <a href="https://twitter.com/sydney_sweeney/status/1266989568412143621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-eagle-refuses-to-cave-doubles-down-in-response-to-sydney-sweeney-ad?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=American+Eagle+Refuses+To+Cave%2C+Doubles+Down+In+Response+To+Sydney+Sweeney+Ad">American Eagle Refuses To Cave, Doubles Down In Response To Sydney Sweeney Ad</a>

2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones – Arrivals

Leftists Melt Down After Report That Sydney Sweeney Is Registered Republican

Celebrities

Media

Sydney Sweeney

Voting

A Wall Street Journal poll released over the weekend revealed the popularity of the Democratic Party has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/democratic-party-poll-voter-confidence-july-2025-9db38021?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAiHgZpqzGtTgH8aAJUb0z2ZAeLkfl8uKnQaQFgV6RkTNm7wEZmRlhTMB0H3YkU%3D&amp;gaa_ts=6887a65b&amp;gaa_sig=LWJ5OzLS6j1dmPqi17NnXkMvf3i6YJXDOQ82hMozQep-S2AEPoFareak7CyKP7fEOGml9NHKRMWVTVY0eR89Ww%3D%3D">plunged to its lowest level</a> in at least 35 years.
The poll surveyed 1,500 registered voters between July 16 and 20.
A whopping 63% held an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party, with only 33% having a favorable view. Only a paltry 8% of voters viewed Democrats “very favorably.”
“Disapproval of Trump’s handling of inflation outweighs approval by 11 points, and yet the GOP is trusted more than Democrats to handle inflation by 10 points,” the Journal noted. “By 17 points, voters disapprove rather than approve of Trump’s handling of tariffs, and yet Republicans are trusted more than Democrats on the issue by 7 points.”
Voters trusted congressional Republicans 17 points more than Democrats on immigration in general and 24 points more on illegal immigration.
“The Democratic brand is so bad that they don’t have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party,” Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who joined Republican Tony Fabrizio to conduct the survey, told the Journal. “Until they reconnect with real voters and working people on who they’re for and what their economic message is, they’re going to have problems.”
The Journal noted that in 2017, Democratic voters outnumbered Republicans by six percentage points, but more voters currently identify as Republicans. With the 2026 Congressional elections pivotal as the Republicans hold a perilously narrow majority in the House of Representatives, one salient fact stands out: “Campaign-finance reports out this week show that the Republican National Committee ended the first half of the year with more than $80 million on hand, compared with $15 million held by the Democrats’ national campaign arm,” the Journal reported. “The Democratic committee <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/democratic-donors-progressive-aoc-zohran-mamdani-825242e9?mod=article_inline" data-type="link">raised roughly 20% less than it did</a> in the first six months of 2021, a comparable period in the last midterm cycle, and has in the bank a quarter of what it did four years ago.”

A chef holding a smelly fish

Voters Abandon Democrats, Support Hits Lowest Level in More Than Three Decades: Poll

Democrats

General

Poll

Wall Street Journal

For years, the diplomats and pundits who inhabit Washington have painted the MAGA movement as “isolationist.” And while they correctly identify MAGA’s antipathy for spending money on bloated international bureaucracies, they typically get its actual foreign policy preferences entirely wrong.
This caricature doesn’t survive statistical scrutiny. According to new polls from the Ronald Reagan Institute and the Vandenberg Coalition, MAGA voters overwhelmingly reject withdrawing from the world stage. In fact, a whopping 73% of MAGA Republicans want the United States to be more engaged overseas — beating out Democrats at 65% and non-MAGA Republicans at 59%.
The Vandenberg polling shows the same trend: 80% of MAGA voters support America taking a leadership role in global affairs, and 87% back increasing military spending to keep the United States strong.
Nowhere are these preferences clearer than in Europe. The Left loves to characterize the MAGA movement as soft on Russia and dismissive of NATO. But a majority (76%) of MAGA Republicans say the United States should defend NATO allies if they’re attacked by Russia. That’s a firm commitment to deterrence, not a giveaway to Vladimir Putin.
Even more striking, Reagan Institute data show nearly six in 10 Republicans, including MAGA voters, support increasing the U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe despite years of freeloading off the American taxpayer. MAGA supporters see how President Donald Trump pushed NATO countries to spend more on their own defense and succeeded. The MAGA movement is not abandoning allies–it’s seeking to strengthen them by pushing them to carry their fair share of the security burden.
China is where MAGA voters are sounding the loudest alarm — and for good reason. They don’t view the Chinese Communist Party as a distant strategic competitor but as a direct threat to the homeland.
According to the Reagan Institute’s new data, 91% of MAGA voters are “extremely” or “somewhat” concerned about Chinese land purchases near American military bases, 89% are concerned about CCP-linked companies like TikTok spying on Americans, and 86% are concerned about military-age Chinese men entering the U.S. illegally. They intuitively understand what many in Washington still downplay: that the CCP is infiltrating our society, stealing our data, manipulating public discourse, and using every tool of economic and political influence to weaken America from within.
That urgency extends to China’s global ambitions: Vandenberg polling shows that 84% of MAGA voters say it’s extremely important for the U.S. to maintain superiority over China in military, economic, and technological power. MAGA voters don’t value more summits or empty gestures. They want a strategy that defends our borders, counters CCP espionage, reclaims our technological advantage, and confronts China’s aggression head-on.
That same clarity extends to Taiwan. Once MAGA voters consider what’s at stake — control of the world’s semiconductor supply, protection of vital sea lanes, and preservation of American credibility — 84% say the United States should defend Taiwan if China invades. They know that if America retreats, our enemies advance — and global chaos fills the vacuum.
MAGA voters are even more focused on the Iran threat. Recent polling lists preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon as one of MAGA voters’ top national security concerns — second only to illegal immigration at the southern border.
An overwhelming 90% of MAGA voters say this issue directly impacts American security and prosperity — and that was before President Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. After those strikes, 74% of MAGA conservatives said they would support additional military action, and 68% said the world is now safer because of them. A staggering 92% agree it is extremely important to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
For decades, American foreign policy was mired in either overextension or half-measures, endless negotiations, and failed attempts to buy peace. That record eroded the American people’s appetite for deploying power overseas. But they watched in dismay as the Biden Administration acted with weakness, unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets, ignoring proxy attacks on U.S. troops, and groveling for a nuclear deal. President Trump, by contrast, has shown what it means to project strength without starting wars.
MAGA voters don’t want to remake the world in the United States’ image. They want a foreign policy that puts American security first, prioritizes deterrence, and uses force sparingly but decisively.
This worldview rejects the false choice between interventionism and isolationism. It’s a foreign policy grounded in the prudent use of American power. MAGA voters are asking for an alternative to Biden’s weakness: a foreign policy rooted in sovereignty and strength.  They want a foreign policy through which our enemies fear us, our allies respect us, and deterrence protects us — and a foreign policy that never apologizes for putting America First.
Yousif Kalian is a Policy Advisor at POLARIS National Security. He has over a decade of experience advancing U.S. interests in the Middle East and Eurasia.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

President Trump Delivers Address To Nation On Iran Military Operation

MAGA Voters Are Leading America’s Foreign Policy Revival

Foreign Policy

MAGA

Polls

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said Tuesday that foreign-born voters in the United States have swung toward the Republican Party on immigration by 40 points since 2020.
Immigrant voters have swung harder to the Right than any other demographic, Enten said. The transformation has come side-by-side with large gains by President Donald Trump among immigrant voters, as well.
“Foreign-born voters have gone tremendously to the Right on this issue in 2024 and 2025 versus where they were in 2020,” said Enten. “You go back to 2020, Democrats, get this, held a 32-point lead on this issue. Immigrant voters were in the Democratic camp. Jump forward to 2024, 2025. Look at that shift. A 40-point shift to the Right among immigrant voters.”
“Republicans now lead on this issue by eight points over Democrats, more so than any other group that I could find,” he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
No group has become more hawkish on immigration &amp; shifted to the GOP than immigrants.
Immigrant voters -Trust more on immigration in 2020: Dem +32 pt to Now: GOP +8 pt -Net fav of immigrants here illegally: +23 pt in &#39;20, -6 pt in &#39;24 -Trump&#39;s vote: 36% in &#39;16 to 47% in &#39;24! <a href="https://t.co/YebaSvfL7D">pic.twitter.com/YebaSvfL7D</a>
&mdash; (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) <a href="https://twitter.com/ForecasterEnten/status/1932441141237989444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Since 2016, Trump’s signature issue has been immigration, and he appears to have benefitted politically from immigrants’ views swinging hard to the Right on the issue. Among immigrants who are registered to vote in the United States, Trump has gained 11 points in support since his first presidential campaign.
“Look at this, 2016, he got 36 percent of the vote. You go to 2020, 39 percent of the vote. Look at this, in 2024, all the way up to 47 percent of the vote,” said Enten. “Some polls I looked at had him barely losing that vote. Some polls I looked at had him barely winning that vote. Again, there is no bloc of voters that shifted more to the Right from 2020 to 2024 than immigrant voters.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
Immigrant voters have also soured in their views on illegal immigrants. In 2020, foreign-born voters had a 23-point positive view of illegal immigrants. In 2024, the consensus flipped to become a 6-point negative view of illegal immigrants, according to Enten.
Enten’s analysis of the legal immigrants’ views on immigration comes as Trump has responded forcefully to anti-immigration enforcement riots in the Los Angeles area. After days of unrest over federal immigration operations, the president ordered 2,000 National Guard troops into Los Angeles on Sunday, followed by more guardsmen and Marines on Monday.
Rioters and demonstrators have attacked law enforcement, burned vehicles, and written threatening messages to federal immigration agents in recent days as the Trump administration has stepped up deportation operations in the Los Angeles area.
Democrats in California have fought Trump on the immigration operations. Governor Gavin Newsom backed a state lawsuit against the administration on Monday claiming that Trump’s orders sending in the military to quell the riots and protect law enforcement violated the law.

Legal Immigrants Have Swung 40 Points Right On Immigration, Favor GOP: Polling Expert

Democratic Party

Deportations

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Editor’s note: This is the sixth and final installment of a six-part series by pollster Brent Buchanan on the politics of the American South. In the last installment, Buchanan took a close look at Georgia to tell the story of the South’s political crossroads. Today, he offers suggestions for how Republicans can achieve political victory in the South.
We hope you enjoy.
—
It’s easy to oversimplify American politics. But when it comes to our collective understanding of regionality, it really is as simple as North, East, South, and West.
Engrained in the minds across generations, defined by mighty rivers and a brutal Civil War, the South — more than any other region — is more politically consequential than it ever has been. For most of modern American history, the “Solid South” was a real thing that helped Democrats win the White House and the presidency.
Today, it is a myth.
The real story of America’s South, as you’ve been reading in this <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/brent-buchanan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six-part series</a>, is the story of an emerging patchwork of political intricacies and growing political dominance. Our exclusive analysis of the South shows 10 distinct regions transcending state lines and traditional constructs, showing vulnerabilities and opportunities for both parties – but more for Republicans — if they can capitalize before Democrats find a rudder and sales pitch.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929707" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Full-Map-2.jpeg" alt="" width="670" height="407" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Full-Map-2.jpeg 670w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Full-Map-2-300x182.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 670px) 100vw, 670px" /></div>
State lines determine the borders for how we’ll count votes, but voters and their stances on key issues of the day don’t adhere to state lines. How well each party understands and adapts to the South’s regional realities will determine the balance of power for the 2026 midterm elections and the rest of Donald Trump’s presidency.
To culminate this deep analysis of aggregated demographic variables, survey responses, and trends in everything from education, income, gender, age, and partisanship, we offer four things Republicans should focus on to achieve political victory in the South.
<h3>Base Fortress Regions With GOP Ceilings</h3>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929697" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/DixieBigSkyTrumpianH-mapsx3.png" alt="" width="785" height="409" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/DixieBigSkyTrumpianH-mapsx3.png 785w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/DixieBigSkyTrumpianH-mapsx3-300x156.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/DixieBigSkyTrumpianH-mapsx3-768x400.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px" /></div>
Pollsters and political operatives felt the tremors of America’s massive political realignment before most of the mainstream media caught on, but by now it’s common knowledge that Trump’s emergence as the central figure of political life was the catalyst of a growing Diploma Divide.
But Trump reflects an electorate whose political preferences began changing even before he came down that golden escalator.
While this realignment has happened nationally, it’s most prominent and evident in the South. For the Republican Party, three main regions anchor its new political advantage. What we’ve dubbed Dixieland, Big Sky South, and the Trumpian Highlands serve as base fortresses from diploma-divide-driven gains from Democrats — but offer little to no room for growth. In 2024, Trump’s ballot shares were 71% in Dixieland, 70% in the Big Sky South, and 75% in the Trumpian Highlands.
“This is about as good as it’s going to get for the GOP in these New South buttresses,” said Nicholas Valdiviez, Cygnal’s Sampling Lead for this project. “These three strongholds are reliable for Republicans, but it’s unreasonable to expect they can deliver more than they already have.”
So what? As we’ve seen in previous cycles, it can be easy to try and offset lagging performance in harder-to-get voter groups by surging turnout in reliable regions like these. But the GOP’s focus should be on keeping turnout and engagement at these levels — which won’t be easy as these areas aren’t growing as much as other Southern regions less friendly to Republicans. There’s more peril in the ceilings of these fortresses if voters are unenthused and stay home.
<h3>Wild Cards &amp; Volatility: Regions That Could Flip</h3>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929705" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexCondoCoal-mapsx2.png" alt="" width="767" height="295" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexCondoCoal-mapsx2.png 767w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexCondoCoal-mapsx2-300x115.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 767px) 100vw, 767px" /></div>
If you’ve followed this series, you know the only states we called out as standalone fixtures in the still uncertain political future of the South were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hold-what-the-peach-states-political-patchworks-mean-for-2026?author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=What+The+Peach+State%E2%80%99s+Political+Patchworks+Mean+For+2026%C2%A0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bbq-politics-how-north-carolinas-sauce-divide-mirrors-voting-behavior?author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=BBQ+Politics%3F+How+North+Carolina%E2%80%99s+Sauce+Divide+Mirrors+Its+Voting+Behavior%C2%A0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina.</a> Beyond the regions we’ve identified as the TexMex Nexus and Coastal Condo Coalition, those are the two states with the highest volatility and uncertainty heading into the midterm elections.
North Carolina’s split personality in politics is mirrored by its split choice in barbeque sauces, while Georgia’s newish designation as a swing state is defined by a seeming disappearance of the traditional Black Belt and regional creep from the stronghold of the Trumpian Highlands. Both states are incredibly consequential to party control in Washington — but they’re not the only volatile areas we’re watching.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929699" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/CoastalCondoCoal-map1.png" alt="" width="484" height="383" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/CoastalCondoCoal-map1.png 484w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/CoastalCondoCoal-map1-300x237.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px" /></div>
First, let’s look at the Coastal Condo Coalition, centered in Florida&#8217;s densely urbanized southern tip. It is one of the most demographically and economically unique regions in the South. Traditionally a Democratic stronghold (Democrats lead 45% to 32% in registration), this region has seen notable Republican gains since 2016, culminating in a 6.6% swing toward the GOP in 2024. This is its best performance in years, nearly flipping the partisan split to 49-51.
Then, let’s look at the TexMex Nexus. This region spans heavily Hispanic areas along the Texas border, and in scattered urban centers, it has been one of the most politically dynamic zones in our Southern analysis. After holding steady at a near 50-50 partisan split in 2012, this region took a sharp left turn in 2016, moving 10 points toward the Democrats — double the next largest leftward shift in the South. That trend continued into 2020 with another 4-point Democratic gain, making it seem like a prime target for Democrats as their registration advantage grew to 53% over the GOP’s 39%.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929701" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexNexus-map1.png" alt="" width="514" height="383" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexNexus-map1.png 514w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/TexMexNexus-map1-300x224.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 514px) 100vw, 514px" /></div>
But 2024 brought a dramatic reversal, as the Tex-Mex Nexus saw the second-largest rightward swing of any region, moving 9 points toward Republicans and ending at a D+5 margin — a five-point improvement for the GOP compared to 2016. This shift was powered by significant Republican gains among Latino voters, particularly men, and by a focus on economic and border issues that resonated locally.
So what? With popular Governor Brian Kemp out of contention for the Georgia Senate race, the state remains in flux alongside its northern swing state counterpart, North Carolina. Factor in the fact that neither the Coastal Condo Coalition nor the TexMex Nexus is on lock for the GOP, and you have the four biggest wild cards in the South.
<h3>Stagnation &amp; Gridlock in the “Sweet” Burbs and Faux South</h3>
So, now we’ve got the Republican strongholds identified and the wild cards laid out — but that’s only half the picture. Vast swaths of the South are in political gridlock where even the sheer force of personality from someone like Trump has managed to crack — or break. These are the regions we’ve labeled the Sweet Tea Suburbs and the Faux South. While old voting patterns seem to be fading, these regions remain “stuck zones,” political wastelands where entrenchment and razor-thin margins offer no clear advantage to either party.
“These are not battlegrounds in the traditional sense,” Valdiviez says. “Rather they are stagnant bogs who have more impact on their urban cores and outlying mixing zones of other regions and therefore should be pursued nice-to-have incremental gains rather than outright winnable. The catch is these areas are political fronts that if left unattended could wind up being potential wild cards.”
So what? With so much talk of massive realignments and sweeping partisan shifts, both in strongholds and wild cards, these doldrums are different, and should be approached differently. The GOP’s only hope is to nibble around the edges of these regions with dynamic quality candidates and a message more akin to hometowns than the machinations of Washington, D.C.
<h3>Growth Regions: The GOP’s Next Frontier</h3>
Now for the fun part: the opportunities for Republicans in the South. If you’ve been following along so far, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster to say the least, but here are the three regions we think will comprise the next frontier for Republicans.
The Soulful South stands out among them, but not because of the 58% Republican ballot share or because Georgia’s Black Belt is now less visible in our regional analysis. Rather, the Soulful South stands out because it has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-end-of-democratic-assumptions-how-minority-voters-are-reshaping-southern-politics?author=Brent+Buchanan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+End+of+Democratic+Assumptions%3A+How+Minority+Voters+Are+Reshaping+Southern+Politics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trending rightward</a> since 2012.
The fact that Democrats take these voters for granted — combined with the connection forged by Trump’s candidacy — has made the Soulful South a budding ground of opportunity for Republicans going forward. Overconfidence here is perilous, but with Democrats without a message or a messenger that resonates with this predominantly black region, our analysis shows more to gain for Republicans than to lose. They should keep their foot on the gas here.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-929703" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SoulfulSouth-map1.png" alt="" width="455" height="361" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SoulfulSouth-map1.png 455w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SoulfulSouth-map1-300x238.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 455px) 100vw, 455px" /></div>
Our proprietary naming conventions and analysis also identify the Republican Resettlers and Big Hat Bloc regions as prime opportunities. The Republican Resettlers region, fueled by an influx of newcomers from liberal states seeking communities with conservative governance (you heard that right), has shown some of the most consistent rightward movement in the South, swinging eight points further right by 2024 to reach an R+17 margin. As migration trends continue, especially along the Georgia and Florida coasts, this bloc is poised to expand its influence and deliver reliable support for Republican candidates.
Similarly, the Big Hat Bloc, which experienced setbacks during the early Trump years, has rebounded with record Republican margins in 2024. This region’s mix of cultural conservatism and economic focus makes it fertile ground for further Republican consolidation, especially if the party can maintain strong turnout and continue to address local priorities — much like those strongholds we addressed earlier.
With both regions trending right and absorbing new, like-minded residents, the GOP’s prospects for midterm gains are strong, provided they stay focused on localized outreach and avoid complacency in data, spending, and messaging.
So what? This is where Republicans should surge their efforts with non-college educated, non-white voters, and even those <a href="https://cygn.al/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Cygnal-Election-2024-Focus-Group_Analysis.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ticked-off, young, working class, and diverse</a> voters within these regions. These are new constituencies for the GOP, and now is the time to further build out these inroads and lock in the gains for the post-Trump era.
<h3>Conclusion: The States and Their Shapes</h3>
As Americans, we know the regionality of our nation inherently, and we understand that state lines can be pesky and a bit funny. We also know those lines serve a multitude of purposes, chief among them governance and counting votes. With that in mind, it only makes sense to examine the South from our <a href="https://www.cygn.al/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/10-Regions-of-the-American-South-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">distinct regional perspective, noting</a> that Texas and Florida alone are projected to gain eight new congressional seats by 2030, with other Southern states like Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina also on the rise.
This shift comes at the expense of traditional blue state strongholds in the Midwest, fundamentally redrawing the map of political opportunity in America. The parties that best understand these new Southern realities — where regional identities like we’ve defined here, not state lines, drive turnout and loyalty — will tip the upper hand for 2026 and the next decade.
But here’s the catch: like the Democrats before them, Republicans can’t afford to treat the South as a monolith or rely on pre-Trump playbooks.
The story of the South today is one of ceilings, wild cards, gridlock, and growth. The lesson for Republican campaigns, operatives, and strategists is as clear as it is urgent: the old assumptions are dead, and the new map of power is regional, dynamic, and deeply local. The party that can surge turnout in fortress regions, lock in gains in growth zones, nibble at the edges of gridlocked suburbs, and win the battle for the wild cards will be the party that defines the next era of American politics.

Vice President JD Vance Tours Nucor Steel Berkeley In South Carolina

The South’s Next Act: Wild Cards In 2026 And Beyond 

Georgia

North Carolina

Southern States

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk polled his followers on Thursday, asking if there should be a &#8220;new political party in America&#8221; as he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-hes-very-disappointed-with-elon-musk-fires-back?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Says+He%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%98Very+Disappointed+With+Elon%E2%80%99%3B+Musk+Fires+Back">sparred</a> with President Donald Trump over the &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221;
&#8220;Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?&#8221; Musk asked his 220 million followers on X, the platform he owns.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1930685402631053403?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Musk, who took a step back from his White House role last week, has been increasingly critical of Trump&#8217;s signature piece of legislation. The former senior Trump adviser and brainchild behind the Department of Government Efficiency project argues that the president&#8217;s bill doesn&#8217;t do enough to cut waste and fraud in the federal government and is concerned about it adding to the federal deficit.
While Trump remained quiet on Musk&#8217;s criticism for days, the president finally addressed Musk&#8217;s comments, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he was &#8220;very disappointed&#8221; with Musk &#8220;because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here.&#8221; Trump also said he &#8220;would have won Pennsylvania regardless of Elon,&#8221; sparking the ire of Musk, who donated hundreds of millions of dollars in 2024 to help elect Trump and other Republicans and appeared on stage with Trump at some of his rallies.
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“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,&#8221; Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930667528696828120">shot back</a>.
&#8220;Such ingratitude,&#8221; he added.
Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ive-done-enough-musk-says-he-will-spend-a-lot-less-on-future-political-campaigns">said</a> last month that he was “going to do a lot less in the future” in regards to political donations, but left the door open.
“I think I’ve done enough,” Musk said at Bloomberg’s Qatar Economic Forum, adding, “If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason.”
Musk also dug up old tweets from Trump, such as when Trump called out Republicans in 2012 and 2013 for neglecting fiscal responsibility.
&#8220;Where is the man who wrote these words?&#8221; Musk asked. &#8220;Was he replaced by a body double!?&#8221;
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Where is the man who wrote these words?
Was he replaced by a body double!? <a href="https://t.co/N4Mliip5U4">https://t.co/N4Mliip5U4</a>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1930683435280167193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Elon Musk

Musk Floats Creating ‘A New Political Party’ Amid Fallout With Trump

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Executive

White House

CNN data analyst Harry Enten voiced his disbelief on Monday as the latest polls show that Republicans have eliminated the Democratic Party&#8217;s double-digit advantage in one key metric: which party looks out for the middle class?
Enten laid out several polls — including one from CNN and one from Reuters — showing that Republicans held the advantage when it came to the economy, even after four months of what Democrats and media have repeatedly painted as economic upheaval and the stock market &#8220;going bonkers.&#8221;
WATCH:
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🚨HOLY SMOKES: CNN veteran pollster is completely FLABBERGASTED by new polling that reveals how Democrats are failing even FURTHER behind.
&#8220;How is that possible, Democrats?!&#8221;
&#8220;Democrats have traditionally been the party of the middle class. NO MORE&#8230;! Adios, amigos!&#8221;
BRUTAL. <a href="https://t.co/WPlUhfQpu3">pic.twitter.com/WPlUhfQpu3</a>
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1929546587782484255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;After the first five months of the Donald Trump presidency &#8212; the first four months of the Donald Trump presidency, you&#8217;d expect that Democrats would have this massive lead on the economy,&#8221; Enten began. &#8220;It ain&#8217;t so, it ain&#8217;t so! The party that is closest to your economic views, in November of 2023, it was the Republicans by 11 points. Now, it&#8217;s still within that range, still within that margin of error — plus eight point advantage for the Republican Party.&#8221;
&#8220;How is that possible, Democrats?! How is that possible after all the recession fears After the stock market&#8217;s been doing all of this, after all the tariffs that Americans are against, Republicans still hold an eight-point lead on the economy? Are you kidding me?&#8221; Enten continued.
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He went on to note that multiple polls were telling the same story  — with some even showing Trump&#8217;s numbers going up despite the erratic markets.
&#8220;Despite all of that, the Democrats are down by 12 points on the economy,&#8221; he said, &#8220;This speaks to Democratic problems on the economy.&#8221;
He finished with the key question — &#8220;Which is the party of the middle class?&#8221; — on which polling has traditionally skewed Democrat by double digits, and showed how Republicans had chipped away that lead dramatically since Trump was first elected in 2016.
In 1989, Enten explained, Democrats had held a 23 point advantage. They only lost six points over nearly three decades — dropping only to a 17-point lead after 27 years in 2016. The Democrats&#8217; lead dropped to just four points in 2022 and as of 2025, has disappeared entirely.
&#8220;This, I think, speaks to Democratic ills more than anything else,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Democrats have traditionally been the party of the middle class. NO MORE! Donald Trump and the Republican Party have taken that mantle away and now a key advantage for Democrats historically has gone. Adios, amigos!&#8221;

President Trump Meets With El Salvador President Nayib Bukele At The White House

CNN Pollster Shocked As GOP Obliterates Major Advantage Dems Have Had For Decades

polling

Former FBI Director James Comey called the Republican Party “white supremacist adjacent” on MSNBC.
Comey was interviewed over the weekend by MSNBC host and former Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
“One of the things that is happening now is that the Trump administration, of course, is testing the system in ways it hasn’t been tested before,” Psaki claimed. “In the law enforcement sense, do you think there are laws that should be put in place that would help better manage this, that aren’t in place now? I mean, are we equipped? Is the law enforcement system and the legal system equipped to deal with what we are seeing now?”
“Probably there could be changes at the margins, but in the main we have the tools; there are cultural impediments to doing this work,” Comey answered. “Let’s say you work in the FBI; you know that one of the two political parties is — let me put it nicely— white supremacist adjacent, at a minimum. And so why would you wanna throw your career on that side of the line and be summoned to Capitol Hill to be asked why you’re pursuing these innocent groups. And so we have a cultural impediment to working it effectively that should get more attention than it does.”
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In April 2019, Comey <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/opinion/james-comey-trump-racism.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> President Trump of “stirring” racism for his own political benefit, writing in the New York Times, “America has long had a radioactive racist soup in the center of our national life. Donald Trump thinks he is stirring it for political benefit. He’s actually doing something more dangerous.” He addressed Trump directly, saying, “You must stop trying to unleash and exploit the radioactive energy of racism.”
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James Comey says the Republican Party are White supremacists.
He also called to ass*ssinate Trump.
He’s demonizing an entire group and calling for violence.
He knows exactly what he’s doing.<a href="https://t.co/Fv5HUosbpn">pic.twitter.com/Fv5HUosbpn</a>
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1927003388534816881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Comey also attacked the GOP by accusing the party of ignoring principles, although he followed by suggesting — without any irony at all and ignoring the actions of the Biden presidency, that a Democratic president might implement investigations of the GOP. He stated, “I know Republicans these days aren’t big in thinking about principle or precedent; they’re gonna be deeply sorry that disappears because someday there’ll be a Democratic president and there will be investigations of Republican office holders. If I’m them (sic), I sure would want these career people in place making sure that it’s done in the right way.”

ABC News – 2018

James Comey Calls GOP ‘White Supremacist Adjacent’

James Comey

White Supremacists

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