The newly elected leaders coming out of the 2015 general elections have a key role to play in reshaping the public’s view of the Republican Party.

The elections came at a critical time, considering current opinion of the GOP is low, largely due to the eccentric behaviors and beliefs of current Republican presidential hopefuls, like Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson. Though the election results do not directly affect the presidential race, the recently elected have the responsibility to relay what the modern-day party truly stands for: not sitting back on its heels when it comes to controversial policies.

The GOP’s impressive capture of the majority in Virginia’s senate could help in the push for less gun control, considering the state maintains its resilience to firearm policy at a time when Democrats are pushing for large-scale legislative change.

It is no secret that Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have stricter gun-control laws on their agenda. These past few months have been filled with violent news stories involving guns, and the Democratic Party has been using this coverage to its advantage to win over public opinion.

Though minor, if the GOP is going to have a chance at making strategic reform to existing laws rather than witnessing widespread restrictions made by Democrats, the Republican majority in Virginia is a sign that it might be getting the chance to do just that.

Like gun control, Obamacare took a hit with a Republican victory in Kentucky where Matt Bevin was elected the state’s next governor, beating out Democrat Jack Conway.

A major component of Bevin’s campaign platform was his promise to undo Kentucky’s Obamacare exchange. Now that Bevin has been elected, waging his war on the Affordable Care Act will become a state priority. Though this is another seemingly insignificant win as an isolated event, Bevin’s election could be influential in the big picture.

The actions Bevin takes as governor will be important not just for the future of the Affordable Care Act, but for the overall integrity of the Republican Party. Leading a state in which 400,000 of his constituents are covered by Obamacare, according to the Huffington Post, this is an opportunity for Bevin to enlighten people to the reasoning behind conservative values against Obamacare.

Moving forward, actions made on behalf of the Virginia state senate and Bevin as governor, in addition to the number of GOP victories on local levels, it is clear the party is making baby steps to polishing its image and winning back voters.

Even though individual states still feel ties to traditional political parties or identities, most citizens overall are more likely to vote democratic in the presidential election.

According to a Gallup Poll conducted in 2014, 47 percent of Americans identify as Democrats, 41 percent identify as Republican and 16 percent say they are independent, but lean toward the Republican Party.

Although Republicans may still not be the national majority, party members should still see these elections as a small victory for the party.

However, because these results do not directly transfer to the presidential election, elected members like Bevin and those of the Virginia senate should view these successes as an opportunity to create an improved public image and favor.

Victoria Razzi is a sophomore advertising major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at vcrazzi@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @vrazzi.

Published on November 11, 2015 at 12:24 am