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Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Abstract

The question pursued in my research paper is this: Does the proliferation of extreme political attitudes fuel party polarization along party lines in the United States? I hypothesize that the greater the number and extreme tone of political statements made by powerful figures within a party, the greater the level of polarization between and within the parties. A thorough analysis was completed on 4 different eras of Republican control in Congress: the John Boehner era (2011-2015), the Paul Ryan era (2015-2019), the Kevin McCarthy era (2023), and the Mike Johnson era (2023-Present). By examining the influence exerted by the Republican speakers when compared to the influence of the Tea Party/House Freedom Caucus, the Republican Party is found to be moving in the direction espoused by far-right Republicans. A 15% shift to the right in the overall Republican caucus shows that extreme political attitudes are playing a major role in the American party polarization dilemma.

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