The GOP’s Uneasy Relationship With Democracy

Dateline — September 7, 2025

When Utah Senator Mike Lee declared in 2020 that “democracy isn’t the objective,” critics recoiled at what seemed to be a stunning admission from a sitting U.S. senator. Five years later, his words continue to reverberate, not only because of their blunt dismissal of democracy as an ideal, but because they echo a growing undercurrent within the Republican Party that questions, minimizes, or outright rejects democratic norms.

From Utah to the National Stage

Utah has been a focal point in this debate. In 2016, the Republican-dominated Utah legislature passed a resolution urging Congress to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment—the constitutional change that gave Americans the right to directly elect their senators. Advocates of repeal argue that returning this power to state legislatures would restore federalism and strengthen states’ rights. Critics counter that it would strip citizens of one of their most direct democratic powers (State and Federal Communications, 2016).

Mike Lee, representing that same state, took the rhetoric further during the 2020 election cycle, insisting that America was never intended to be a democracy. His claim—that the United States is a constitutional republic—was technically correct but politically charged. The Founders used both terms interchangeably, but Lee’s framing suggested democracy itself was a threat to liberty, a sentiment more often voiced in authoritarian circles than in mainstream American politics (Guardian, 2020).

New Calls for Repeal

Fast forward to 2025, and other Republican-leaning states are picking up the baton. In March, legislatures in Montana and West Virginia advanced resolutions calling for repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment. Montana’s House Joint Resolution No. 25 argued that senators chosen by state legislatures would be more accountable to state governments, not national political pressures (Citizen Portal, 2025). Meanwhile, West Virginia’s House Concurrent Resolution 74 went further, seeking an Article V constitutional convention specifically to propose repealing the amendment (West Virginia Legislature, 2025).

Both efforts are non-binding, but their symbolism is unmistakable. A century after the direct election of senators was enshrined as a safeguard against corruption, Republican legislators in multiple states are openly working to roll back this democratic reform.

Politicians Decrying Democracy

Beyond legislative maneuvers, rhetoric from prominent conservatives has added fuel to the fire. In May 2024, Fox News personality and former Army officer Pete Hegseth declared: “Our founders did not want us to be a democracy.” In his book American Crusade, Hegseth went further, suggesting that gerrymandering should be embraced as a legitimate political tool to protect Republican power (Hegseth, 2020).

Such remarks are no longer isolated gaffes. They represent a broader tendency within the GOP to downplay democracy as either overrated or even dangerous. The shift is subtle but important: rather than championing democratic participation as a universal good, certain Republican leaders are reframing democracy as mob rule—a threat to liberty rather than its foundation.

Democratic Erosion in Practice

Observers warn that this ideological shift dovetails with real threats to democratic institutions. Analysts at the Brookings Institution note that democratic decline in the United States has less to do with one dramatic break and more to do with gradual erosion: undermining trust in elections, weakening checks and balances, and empowering the executive at the expense of the legislature (Brookings, 2025).

Former President Donald Trump remains at the center of this erosion. His repeated refusal to accept electoral defeats, his flirtations with “dictator for a day” rhetoric, and his party’s willingness to support restrictive voting laws have deepened global concerns about America’s democratic trajectory (Guardian, 2025; Times of India, 2025).

Why It Matters

Defenders of the repeal movement often argue they are not against democracy per se, but against what they see as its excesses. To them, the Seventeenth Amendment weakened the states and strengthened Washington’s grip on power. To their critics, however, these efforts are nothing less than a direct assault on popular sovereignty—the principle that government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed.

The Founders may not have intended a pure democracy, but the steady expansion of voting rights across American history reflects a clear arc toward greater democratic inclusion. Rolling back the direct election of senators would not only reverse that arc but signal that one of the country’s two major parties is willing to subordinate democratic norms to partisan gain.

The Bottom Line

Republican skepticism toward democracy is no longer confined to the fringes. From state legislatures pushing to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment to high-profile voices like Mike Lee and Pete Hegseth openly dismissing democracy as a goal, the anti-democratic current in American politics is real.

Whether these efforts succeed legislatively is almost beside the point. The fact that democracy itself is being cast as suspect within mainstream Republican discourse raises urgent questions about the future of the American experiment. If democracy is no longer the objective, what comes next?

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References

Brookings. (2025). Understanding democratic decline in the United States. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/understanding-democratic-decline-in-the-united-states/

Citizen Portal. (2025, March 26). Montana Legislature urges repeal of Seventeenth Amendment to restore state senator selection. https://www.citizenportal.ai/articles/2790128/Montana/Montana-Legislature-urges-repeal-of-Seventeenth-Amendment-to-restore-state-senator-selection

Guardian. (2020, October 8). Republican US Senator Mike Lee: democracy ‘not the objective’. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/08/republican-us-senator-mike-lee-democracy

Guardian. (2025, September 1). Donald Trump says he is not a dictator. Isn’t he? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/sep/01/trump-dictator-authoritarianism-politics

Hegseth, P. (2020). American crusade: Our fight to stay free. Center Street.

State and Federal Communications. (2016, Feb. 19). Repeal 17th Amendment: Utah Senate wants selection of U.S. Senators returned from state voters to state legislators. https://stateandfed.com/elections/repeal-17th-amendment-utah-senate-wants-selection-of-u-s-senators-returned-from-state-voters-to-state-legislators

Times of India. (2025, March 3). Billionaire Ray Dalio warns US democracy weakening under Donald Trump: ‘This is how autocrats rise’. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/billionaire-ray-dalio-warns-us-democracy-weakening-under-trump-this-is-how-autocrats-rise

West Virginia Legislature. (2025). House Concurrent Resolution 74. https://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hcr74+intr.htm&billtype=cr&houseorig=h&i=74&sesstype=rs&yr=2025