To the editor: Columnist Jonah Goldberg believes that the Republican Party would survive a Trump defeat next month.

In many states, the Republican Party did well after then-President Trump lost in 2020. The GOP won state elections and then cut taxes and red tape, increasing states’ economic growth, population growth and income levels.

The most rapidly growing states with the biggest job growth tend to be Republican states, such as Texas and Florida. Republican states attract jobs and new residents by offering lower taxes, more economic freedom and more educational freedom than Democratic states, according to even critics of Donald Trump.

The four freest states all have Republican governors, while the 10 least free states all have Democratic governors, according to the libertarian Cato Institute, which is headed by an outspoken Trump critic.

Hans Bader, Arlington, Va.

The writer has worked for multiple conservative advocacy organizations and was an attorney for the U.S. Department of Education from 2017-18.

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To the editor: Goldberg overlooks one of the most likely consequences if Trump is defeated — the splintering of the GOP into a party of traditional conservatives and MAGA followers.

The former president’s staunchest supporters aren’t going away, and Trump himself won’t be eager to give up his lucrative control of the Republican Party’s infrastructure.

If the traditionalists manage to hang on to the core of the GOP, and especially if they reject Trump after the election, his acolytes are numerous enough to form a brand-new party and put candidates on the ballot in time for the 2026 election. A number of current Republicans would be eager to jump ship and go along with him.

Of course if that happens, it would split the conservative vote and lead to defeats all around. But hey, America would be great again, right?

Geoff Kuenning, Claremont

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To the editor: The GOP suffered a near-fatal blow when it allowed Trump to represent the party in the 2016 election, and it has been in rehab ever since.

Trump has never acted like a true “Republican,” and his possible defeat next month is more likely to revive the party than kill it. Much depends on what position Trump decides to take in that event, but it could open the door to new leadership, hopefully more in tune with Republican values than Trump has exhibited.

Scott Perley, Irvine