President Donald Trump has remade the Republican Party in his own image, but that transformation could prove costly in future elections, according to a new report.The share of GOP voters identifying as MAGA Republicans has skyrocketed over the past four years, climbing from 38 percent in September 2022 to 62 percent in May 2026, YouGov/Economist surveys have found.“It's a change that has occurred with remarkable speed,” Brookings senior fellows Elaine Kamarck and E.J. Dionne Jr. wrote in a new analysis.Just in the past month, the 79-year-old president demonstrated that his dominance over the Republican Party remains as strong as ever. Candidates he endorsed swept primaries across the country, unseating multiple incumbents who had openly criticized him — over the ongoing Iran war and the Epstein files.Yet at the same time, non-MAGA Republicans have moved steadily further from the president, according to polls. While this group only constitutes a slice of the party, it will play a crucial role in determining the GOP's future, partly because MAGA enthusiasts make up only a minority of the overall electorate.The number of MAGA Republicans has skyrocketed over the past four years, but this trend could prove costly in future elections, according to a new report (AFP via Getty Images)Summing up this “paradox,” the Brookings fellows wrote: “A clear majority of his party wants him in charge, but the tighter his grip becomes, the farther he drifts from the rest of the country. And the minority unwilling to cede the GOP to Trump grows steadily more rebellious.”In fact, non-MAGA Republicans appear more like independents than party loyalists when it comes to a number of key issues facing the country. That could prove costly in future elections as the nation, overall, is evenly split between the two parties. Seeing other Republicans vote more like independents or Democrats could swing elections in that party’s favor. Democrats could also benefit if non-MAGA Republicans also skip voting and drag down turnout numbers.For example, a May YouGov survey found that only 18 percent of MAGA Republicans said the economy was worsening. Among non-MAGA Republicans, that figure jumped to 65 percent — nearly matching the 67 percent of independents who believed the country was on the wrong economic track.The war in Iran, launched in February, has underscored a similar divide. YouGov polling from March and April shows that 83 percent of MAGA Republicans support the conflict, compared with just 43 percent of their non-MAGA counterparts.The long-running controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein has further exposed a rift. In a February YouGov survey, only 5 percent of MAGA-aligned Republicans said Trump was involved in Epstein’s crimes, while 29 percent of non-MAGA Republicans said he was.“The widespread disillusionment of non-MAGA Republicans presents the party with a serious mobilization challenge this fall,” the authors conclude. “Trump has converted most of the GOP to his way. But those he has not brought along are increasingly restive; they can abandon their party or simply stay home. We’ll know in November.”