If Donald Trump wins the election, the Republican Party will cease to exist, said Tanner Beymer, former chair of the College Republicans at the University of Idaho.
Beymer said this year’s national Republican platform is one of the most conservative platforms in recent history. This has the potential to push moderate Republicans out of the party and into an unaffiliated territory, which he said will move the party’s ideology further to the conservative right.
“And at some point, they so marginalize themselves that all of a sudden this big group of unaffiliated voters that are a lot more like-minded, they organize and form their own party and force the Republicans out,” Beymer said. “That won’t happen right away, but I think within 50 years.”
If Hillary Clinton wins, Beymer said he thinks Trump will buy a TV network and create a conservative news outlet.
“In which case, the more moderate side of the party will come back, restore balance and there will be some form of a Republican party left,” Beymer said. “Regardless of what happens … it’s going to be ugly.”
The College Republicans are not devoting any resources to the presidential election. They have instead focused on electing Republicans to local and state offices.
At a recent meeting, only three of the roughly 15 active members attended. Everyone else was out knocking on doors for local Republican candidates.
College Republicans focused on three elections in District 5, comprised of Latah County and Benewah County. Rachael Miller, another former chair of College Republicans, said one of the races for the state representative seat is especially interesting.
Miller said the Republican candidate Caroline Nilsson Troy is not only against her Democratic opponent, but is facing pressure from a third party candidate who identifies as very conservative. Miller said she expects Troy’s campaign to overcome the challenge of a third candidate who may pull some votes away from her.
Current President of the College Republicans Bruce Berry publicly endorsed the third candidate, Ken De Vries. He said he aligns more closely with De Vries values than Troy’s.
District 5 is one of the biggest swing districts in Idaho, Miller said. Because of that, she encouraged everyone to vote in District 5 rather than in their home districts.
Beymer estimated each College Republicans member puts in 10-20 hours a week working or volunteering for a local campaign — either phone banking, tabling, organizing events or knocking on doors. Beymer said the majority of the voting population in District 5 is in Moscow city limits, but there is another county to the north.
“And one thing we’ve noticed is that our Democratic opponents don’t spend nearly as much time in those parts of the district, so they really appreciate it when legislators go up there,” Beymer said. “We’ve had several people say, ‘Hey, thanks for coming up and talking to us. We often are forgotten up here.’ Caroline has not forgotten about you.”
The College Republicans at UI were not so involved on campus in the past. Beymer said years ago the club had split into three separate groups, and the College Republicans were inactive until he started recruiting again in the fall of 2013 and 2014. The group fizzled out again after the 2014 elections and this fall they recruited again.
ASUI Director of Policy McKenzie MacDonald is a member of College Republicans and said she has heard many misconceptions about the party.
“When I tell people that I’m a Republican, I get a lot of ‘That’s the party of angry white men,’ and I mean, it’s kind of true, but it’s really not,” MacDonald said.
Small government and self-determination are at the core of College Republican values, and Beymer said government should be manageable and able to pay for itself.
Like any organization, there are diverse opinions as well. MacDonald said these are mostly on social issues, such as marriage and abortion. However, the College Republicans have been more focused on helping local campaigns this year than discussing the issues. MacDonald said she expects more of those conversations after the election.
While Trump is the Republican nominee for president, he doesn’t receive much praise from the College Republicans.
Berry campaigned for Ted Cruz in the primary. Berry said he was concerned with Trump’s commitment to the Republican platform.
“He’s always leaned Democrat,” Berry said. “He’s stood by the Clintons for years, and suddenly he has this epiphany.”
He said he agrees wholeheartedly with the Republican platform and said the rise of the far right segment of his party will hold establishment Republicans’ feet to the fire. Berry said he sticks to his convictions, and he wants others to do the same.
“If I were in office and someone asked me if I would compromise, my response typically is, ‘Did Jesus Christ compromise?’” Berry said. “There’s truth to that, then there’s the other side of more reality. Yes, there are times for compromises, but if those compromises are compromising your platform, then there’s potentially a problem there.”
MacDonald said it’s important to be willing to have an open conversation and compromise.
“That’s the future I see for College Republicans,” MacDonald said. “Just to be involved and to help students who want to be more involved get that experience and engage with the political process.”
Jack Olson can be reached at [email protected]