“People think that just because you are a Republican makes you part of the Tea Party or [are a] right wing, Christian conservative, which is not necessarily the case,” Hedrick explained. “The Republican party is a combination of things, just like the Democrats. You have your very social liberals like Bernie Sanders, and you have your moderates like Hillary Clinton.”

RD Ferman, 37, is also member of the New York Young Republicans club. He says that conversations about his political views often feel invasive.

“They make feel like I am being interrogated, asking me about my position on abortion”, says Ferman, who works in finance and is nicknamed “red state”. “Essentially, what people think is that before work, I got to a shooting range or that I recite scriptures. Which is absolutely not true.”

Not everyone has the same experience, however.