Chip & Joanna Gaines Have Been Quiet About Their Political Affiliation

As episodes of Chip and Joanna Gaines' hit show Fixer Upper are even easier to watch these days on Discovery+, it's only natural for fans to be curious about their personal lives, including their politics. It's been nearly eight years since their reality show first premiered on HGTV and the answer to whether Chip and Joanna Gaines are Republicans or Democrats is still not entirely known, though they have opened up about issues important to them.

During the 2020 election, in which Joe Biden ran (and won) against former President Donald Trump, the Texas-based couple did not publicly endorse a candidate on social media. Chip and Joanna, who are parents to five children together, are both registered to vote in Texas, according to a search on the state's voter registration database.

They Don’t Get Specific About Their Politics

In a 2017 blog post, Chip made it clear that neither he nor Joanna would talk about their own political beliefs. "This past year has been tough," he wrote. "In my lifetime, I can’t recall humanity being more divided."

"Joanna and I have personal convictions," he continued. "One of them is this: we care about you for the simple fact that you are a person, our neighbor on planet earth. It's not about what color your skin is, how much money you have in the bank, your political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender, nationality, or faith. That's all fascinating, but it cannot add or take away from the reality that we're already pulling for you. We are not about to get in the business of throwing stones at each other, don't ask us to ‘cause we won't play that way."

But Chip Would Love To Be Joanna's Vice President

In his 2017 memoir, Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned by Doing Stupid Stuff, Chip penned his future obituary in which he dreams of Joanna becoming president. "In 2040, Chip’s Bride, Joanna, won a surprise victory in the presidential general election as the first female half Korean to take the oval office," Chip writes in Chapter 16 of his book. "She went on to win the second term. Chip was her running mate and two-term vice president. Though he never acknowledged it, Chip was largely credited with the successful campaign strategies of criminalizing fear-based living and creating a comprehensive strategy for bridge building.”

Refusing to live in fear would be a major part of Chip’s platform, according to Capital Gaines. “If I ever run for public office one day, there’s a good chance my stump speech will be about making it illegal to live in fear,” he writes in the book, according to the Dallas Observer.

Chip Voted In The 2020 Election

Chip proudly showed off his “I Voted” sticker on Instagram this past election cycle, without specifying who he voted for. Joanna, however, did not share a similar selfie on her social media. (In 2016, Chip tweeted a photo of himself and Joanna wearing their “I Voted” stickers after voting and, again, did not state who they voted for.)

They've Taken Action For Racial Justice

Though Chip and Joanna haven't shared who they voted for, they have outwardly supported issues like fighting for racial justice. In June, amid the national Black Lives Matter protests, their company vowed to take steps to address system racism in the U.S., beginning with diversity and inclusion training for all their Magnolia employees. Additionally, Magnolia donated a total of $100,000 to Waco’s NAACP chapter and the Waco Community Race Relations Coalition, in addition to another $100,000 to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Race Forward. "There is much work to be done, and we are eager to walk forward in humility, with open hands and hearts," a statement on Magnolia’s website reads.

In an essay for the fall 2020 issue of Magnolia Journal following the police killing of George Floyd, Chip opened up about how he'd been examining his own privilege. "My eyes were opened, yet again, to the racial injustices that still plague our country today," the father of five wrote in a segment shared by People. "I’ve spent the past few months listening and trying to sort it all out — overwhelmed at all the things I don’t understand. Overwhelmed by how far we’ve still got to go. Overwhelmed by how far I’ve still got to go. I don’t have answers. I’m still listening. All I know is this: I must do better. We must do better."

That same year, Chip and Joanna also appeared on former NFL player Emmanuel Acho’s YouTube series, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, where they had a dialogue with their kids and Acho about race in the United States.

Faith Has A Strong Influence In Their Lives

While it's known that Chip and Joanna are both proud Christians and have been open about their relationship with God in the past, it's unclear how or if those values affect their politics. "Our family has made the decision to put Christ first, a lifestyle our parents modeled for us very well," Chip told The Billy Graham Evangelistic Organization in 2015. "They showed us how to keep our marriage and our family centered around God."

Chip Supported Political Candidates In The Past

During the 2016 presidential election, Chip tweeted multiple times about Republican Primary Candidate Dr. Ben Carson, who later served as Housing and Urban Development Secretary under the Trump administration. In January 2016, Chip retweeted a statement from Carson that could have led fans to believe that Chip supported him or, at least, supported Carson's messages. "We must stop making our political process about spectacle and must make it instead about the future of our nation," Carson tweeted. In response, Chip tweeted, "Everyone has things or people or issues they connect with..I just connect with this message."

Chip never explicitly stated whether or not he voted for Carson. However, a search in the Federal Election Commission database shows that someone named Chip Gaines from Waco, Texas, who works at Magnolia Homes donated $250 to Carson America in January 2016. (As of February 2021, Chip still follows Carson on Twitter.) In March 2016, Carson dropped out of the presidential primary race due to "disappointing finishes." Thus, Chip would not have been able to vote for him in the 2016 election that resulted in Trump's victory against Hillary Clinton.

While Chip and Joanna's political affiliation and voting history remain a mystery, one thing is certain — they stand by and live by a certain set of beliefs. "We believe in human kindness, knowing we are made better when we work together," the couple's Magnolia Manifesto reads.