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What Are The Duggars' Political Views? Not All Of Them Are Republicans

by Sophie Hirsh

The Duggars have pretty controversial beliefs when it comes to religion and relationships — so it's no surprise that the Duggars' political views are also pretty contentious. Before politics became pretty much all Americans with a conscience talked about, the Duggars weren't much more than an extremely large family. But in recent years, it's become hard to avoid accepting that the Duggars have some extreme political beliefs, some of which imply that they think women and LGBTQ people are second-class citizens, which is incredibly problematic. Unsurprisingly, many of the Duggars support Donald Trump, whether or not they voted for him — and not all of them voted for him.

First off, the family is super conservative. As reported by The Observer, Duggar mom Michelle has spoken at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on multiple occasions. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU), a conservative organization that fights for "liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values, and strong national defense," according to its website. The family has also attended the Values Voter Summit, which supports "traditional marriage" (aka it's against same-sex marriage).

Additionally, Duggar dad Jim Bob served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002 as a Republican. He then ran for U.S. Senate as a Republican, on a strictly pro-life platform. Consistent with that, most of the Duggars are huge advocates for anti-abortion causes. Almost the entire family has attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., an annual rally that protests abortion rights. Typically, anti-abortion people's views align more closely with the Republican Party.

The family is also friends with Republican Mike Huckabee, who attempted to run for president. After conceding, he endorsed Trump.

Additionally, multiple members of the family have made it clear that they do not care about the rights of transgender people. As the Observer noted, Michelle Duggar taped a "robocall" that went out to residents of her town, trying to convince citizens to vote against a bill that would have protected transgender people by letting them use the bathroom that matches with their gender identity.

According to the Observer, the phone call said:

Hello, this is Michelle Duggar ... I’m calling to inform you of some shocking news that would affect the safety of Northwest Arkansas women and children. The Fayetteville City Council is voting on an ordinance this Tuesday night that would allow men—yes, I said men—to use women’s and girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, showers, sleeping areas and other areas that are designated for females only ... I don’t believe the citizens of Fayetteville would want males with past child predator convictions that claim they are female to have a legal right to enter private areas that are reserved for women and girls.”

Michelle also made waves for saying that women should joyfully submit to their husbands for sex, even when they do not want to do it. This viewpoint is inherently not feminist, and typically women who are not feminists are also not Democrats. The Duggars have not responded to Romper's request for comment regarding these statements Michelle made.

Derick Dillard, who married Duggar daughter Jill, has also expressed some pretty scary views about transgender rights. This past fall, he posted some discriminatory, hateful tweets about Jazz Jennings, who stars in her own TLC reality show and is a transgender teenager.

Dillard disclosed that he was voting for Trump, but other Duggars left their candidate of choice a mystery. While Jill, who is married to Dillard, encouraged her followers to vote, she did not disclose which candidate she supported.

Last year, Duggar daughter Jessa's husband Ben Seewald revealed that he is not a Democrat or a Republican, and that he voted for someone other than Trump or Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. He has also expressed support for the Black Lives Matter and Take A Knee movements, both of which Trump and other major Republicans are not fans of. Jessa never revealed if she identifies as a Republican or Democrat.

While many of the Duggars kept who they voted for a secret, it's clear that some of them spent some time on the political fence in recent years. This is a pretty big deal for the Duggars, considering the family's conservative nature. But no matter which political party someone supports, it's important to remember that discrimination is never OK.

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