It’s still Donald Trump’s party: Why the GOP can’t escape his grip

For a brief period following the Republican Party’s lackluster showing in the November 2022 midterms, it seemed like the GOP was finally ready to move on from Donald Trump. It was assumed that the losses of Trump-backed candidates in winnable swing-state races would be the last straw for rank-and-file Republicans, who voiced their frustration that Trump had caused their party to underperform in yet another national election. 

But nine months later, the former president has only tightened his grip on the GOP, leaving little doubt that it is still Donald Trump’s Republican…