A myriad of reasons.
Ignoring the 2016 presidential election, people vote Republican generally because they believe in the following:
- Less government and regulation --> greater freedom and greater economic opportunity
- Protection of moral values against perceived decadence
From a Republican view, these can be valid viewpoints. Maybe most of you know the story but remember how lemonade stands were harassed by city officials and law enforcement because they lacked a license? That's the epitome of over-regulation. It's so ridiculous that it seems like it's from the Onion. To them, the government running the schools, the roads, and so on, sounds like a burden on them and it probably is. Government can be inefficient and ineffective. But then again, if you defund something and create unnecessary bureaucracy, of course it will be ineffective, hence why Republicans think government is ineffective and want to defund it and privatize certain elements.
But why ignore the 2016 election? Because Trump appealed to people of the Rust Belt and Coal states (Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) by creating an "America First" priority in lessening regulation on industries in those states and promote American industry over foreign competitors via tariffs or whatever else. In other words, the Democrats took a free trade approach where as the populist Republican didn't. Fact is, Trump isn't a "Republican." He's a populist who knew what to say by appealing to people's despair and fear.
I know liberals and Democrats (and sometimes libertarians) like to joke that the poor are always voting Republican but it's also Middle Class Americans. Everyone is feeling the pinch. Everyone is blaming it on taxes and an over-regulatory government and they don't see how their taxes are benefiting them. It's problematic in rural areas because they don't see the effect of government firsthand where as urban areas see it immediately which is why they tend to be more liberal/Democratic.
The Democratic Party is far too concentrated in urban areas. It's becoming far too elite and abandoning populist ideas or outright ignoring them. The Republicans today are taking advantage of this with policies that sound great but are actually counter-productive (see West Virginia, coal, and the Opioid Epidemic).
That's my two cents.
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