since the 1990s, the party's support has chiefly come from the south, the great plains, the mountain states and rural areas in the north. the 21st century republican party ideology is american conservatism. the gop supports lower taxes, free market capitalism, a strong national defense, gun rights, deregulation and restrictions on labor unions; it opposes abortion. in addition to advocating for conservative economic policies, the republican party is socially conservative. there have been 19 republican presidents, the most from any one political party. the most recent, donald trump, was elected president in 2016.