Sex and religion were the biggest influences on #NeverTrump Republicans

In the lead up to the 2016 election, many Congressional Republicans joined the #NeverTrump movement in opposition to Donald Trump's candidacy. In new research Lauren Johnson, Deon McCray, and Jordan Ragusa investigate why some lawmakers signed on to the movement while others did not. They find that the most significant predictors for joining the #NeverTrump movement were lawmakers' religion and sex: Mormon and female Republicans were more likely to oppose Trump. They also determine that, counter to Trump’s antiestablishment narrative, lawmakers with establishment voting records and those in leadership positions were actually more likely to back Trump.