ABSTRACT
Republican voters often view party politics as an ideological battle between liberalism and conservatism but do not necessarily share the policy agenda of their elected leadership. Linking right-leaning citizens with elite political goals, the conservative movement has succeeded in creating a multimedia infrastructure to communicate directly with the Republican electoral base and to challenge the authority of mainstream media sources. Republican elites, activists, and voters now rely heavily on conservative media for their political information, to the extent that Fox News Channel, talk radio, and conservative websites have become highly influential actors in Republican politics at the expense of traditional party leaders. This development set the stage for the 2016 presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, who successfully appealed to Republican voters by adopting the policies, concerns, and rhetoric previously popularized by conservative media sources.
