What does all this mean for Republicans? Since 43% of all the votes Mitt Romney received in 2012 came from white evangelical Christians, the GOP would fracture if it abandoned its long-standing support for traditional morality. The Republican Party is the home of cultural conservatives and should remain so, not only for political reasons but also for moral ones.
Yet the GOP must find language that holds social conservatives while attracting socially moderate independents and even Democrats who think their party’s left wing is too wacky. Republicans have done that on abortion—arguing that while the Supreme Court has held that abortion must be legal, people should find common ground to make sure it’s rare.
Republicans must also treat social conservatives as engaged citizens rather than single-issue voters. This means emphasizing economic and foreign policy issues about which they are deeply concerned this cycle.
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