APP Report: GOP’s Embrace of Culture War Crucial to 2024 Victory
WASHINGTON — Today, American Principles Project (APP) released a new report, “Defeating They/Them,” providing a detailed account of how the Republican Party’s focus on cultural issues during the 2024 election proved critical to the GOP’s victory.
Some key findings from the report include:
- Republicans’ closing message for 2024 centered on Democrats’ gender extremism: The Trump campaign spent $37 million on transgender issue ads while Senate GOP campaigns and their supporting groups spent an additional $77 million on such ads in ten states.
- The ads clearly moved voters: A Cygnal/APP post-election poll found that voters who heard Republicans’ transgender issue messaging said they were more likely to vote for Trump than Harris by a 26-38 point margin, while a separate analysis by Blueprint 2024 found that Trump’s transgender argument was the most compelling reason among swing voters to vote against Harris.
- Democrats were unable to respond: Ads created by the Harris campaign to respond on the transgender issue reportedly tested so poorly that they were never run, while similar ads that were run by Senate Democrat candidates failed to demonstrably move the needle.
The report also discusses how these issues present Republicans with a continued opportunity moving forward. You can read the full report here.
APP President Terry Schilling released the following statement on the report’s release:
“Republicans’ campaigns in 2022 and 2024 were very similar. Both ran against an unpopular presidential administration and emphasized the Democrats’ poor track record on the economy, crime, and immigration. But while the 2022 results were widely seen as a disappointment, the GOP improved its fortunes in 2024 by making one major change: embracing the culture war.
“Led by President Donald Trump, Republicans last year hammered Democrats on one of their biggest vulnerabilities — their support of left-wing gender insanity. They made it a centerpiece of their closing message, spending hundreds of millions on transgender issue ads in the closing days of the race. And as our report shows, voters responded by electing GOP candidates up and down the ticket.
“This should provide a clear lesson moving forward that social conservatism is a political winner and that the best strategy for Republicans on cultural issues is to fight back, not call a truce. Following this formula will only serve to further bolster the GOP in 2026 and beyond.”
To schedule an engagement with American Principles Project, contact Paul Dupont at (o) 202-503-2010 or paul@americanprinciplesproject.org.