Yea, but the game's changed. The Republican Party has figured out how to rally millions behind charismatic candidates. I wouldn't be surprised if we were in for a couple more years of Republican leadership.

it remains to be seen whether they can find the next trump hes unique

JD Vance is extremely likeable, and much less polarizing than Trump. The "weird" attack on him died the moment people heard him speak.

I wouldn't call him "much less" polarizing than Trump, he still is more unfavored than favored: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/favorability/jd-v...

I would. Unfavored is single-axis. He is more moderate and more likeable, which does not show up on your graph.

Is that just due to his association with Trump?

I wouldn't say charismatic, but he's solid. I think people mistake charismatic for blunt. Trump is more blunt than he is charismatic. That makes him appear like less of an NPC compared to other politicians, and people actually like that.

Trump literally said "you won't have to vote again".

And if the Project 2025 plan works as they planned it, that's the truth. America will become a single party state and that won't change without a civil war.

They will stack the courts and every appointable position with pro-Trump (not Republican) people who will make sure every election goes their way in the future.

If that's possible, first of all why/how, and second, why would the Democrats not do this?

People won't have to vote for him again because he can't be voted for again due to the two-term-limit.

!RemindMe in four years

Oh people already say civil war? lol.

Nah, nobody is saying it, and it's not happening because the party with all the gun-nuts and survivalists won.

I personally can't see any other way out unless Team Donald messes up badly enough to make their own people shun them.

Charismatic or populist? Same thing in effect, but the latter has a bit more weight / context to politics.

Also if they're having their way, they will break the current system; Trump has said people would never need to vote again if he wins, and Project 2025 aims to give much more power to the president (autocracy): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025

Given what democrats stand for, you don't even have to be charismatic to push them into a corner. Any candidate who will shout anti trans anti illegal immigrantion talking points will always carry the day

You specifically chose a range of dates to make this as dramatic as possible. Could easily say GOP has 24 to 20 since 1980, or 16 to 12 since 2000, or 8 to 4 since 2016.

Doesn't this just demonstrate that the parties have both been very competitive in the contemporary era?

It does, but that doesn't seem to be the argument the commenter upthread was making.

Agreed.