What’s in the future for the Republican Party after the 2022 election?

The recent set of elections demonstrated two things are generally true:

1. The Trump/MAGA faction can dominate the nomination process in Republican primary elections.

2. They cannot win general elections.

The tension here is an old one for political parties: ideological “purity” vs. pragmatism and primary concern with winning elections.

The question of the hour is will the historical beating the Republicans took in November’s elections alter the balance between these two factions?

And it was a beating: historically the nonpresidential party picks up 30-40 seats in the House and several in the Senate. They lost a handful in the House, and all of these could be attributed to redistricting (redistricting decisions in New York and Florida alone account for all of the Republican gains). And the Democrats actually gained a Senate seat.

In Arizona, Democrats swept the top four statewide offices and kept themselves one vote shy of a tie in each legislative house.

Our guests are longtime Mesa Republican activist Tyler Montague, former Paradise Valley Republican precinct committee chair and legislative candidate Kathy Petsas, and Arizona HighGround’s pollster Paul Bentz.

How does the Republican party deal with this? The MAGA faction is large, energized and vocal, but a clear minority that is poised to lose general elections.

So, what of the traditional conservative business/growth Republicans. Can they retake the Republican Party? Or are they ready to move elsewhere?

Our expert panel considers these questions. The answers will say a lot about the direction of our politics, in Arizona and the nation.

The Think Tank airs on KTAR 92.3 FM on Saturday 6-7 p.m. and Sunday 9-10 p.m.

Podcasts are available after broadcast. Older shows are archived at www.mikeoneil.org.