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“Given that the Republicans are the party out of power and lack a single major issue, they are casting around for domestic problems and global threats to energize their voters and build enough support to win back the White House,” Linda Fowler tells The New York Times in an article about the 2016 presidential campaign.

With so many Republican candidates in the field, says Fowler, a professor of government, “Republicans try to stand out with sharply worded sound bites because those are more memorable—even if they create more of a divide between candidates and parties.”