CLEVELAND — The Republican Party, known affectionately as the “Grand Old Party” or “GOP” by its friends, passed away July 18, 2016, after a long illness, at the age of 162.
The GOP was born March 20, 1854, in Ripon, Wis. It earned a reputation as a prodigy when it assumed national power in 1860, when only 6 years old, with the election of the beloved Abraham Lincoln, who went on to win re-election in 1864.