Answer:
I'm not a republican, (I haven't decided, I'm a bit too young) but a lot of different factors can determine party choice. While things might seem black and white, good and bad, it's a lot more complex. While the Democratic party is more community focused, believing that higher taxes for certain groups is necessary to support other parts of the community, Republicans are more focused on individual rights and don't want to have to pay taxes if people don't work for themselves. Republicans are also very focused of personal freedoms, with the idea that too many government restrictions hinder economic growth. A key topic the parties disagree on is immigration. While both parties welcome it, due to it's stimulating effects on the economy, they have very different ways of regulating it. Republicans, along with being focused on their freedoms, are also really concerned about safety. It is a simple fact that drugs come over the border from Central America. However, the immigration process is so broken, that they detain poor migrant workers as well as drug couriers. On the opposite end of the see-saw, Democrats are concerned more with the well-being of these migrants, and take the risk of putting Americans in danger. As for homophobia and racism, Republicans are more likely to be associated with these ideals. However, again, things aren't so black and white. Trump has been the very punchable face of the Republican party, and has shown examples of racism and homophobia, but in reality, many LGBTQ and people of color voted for the Republican party, to secure these individual freedoms. It's a lot more obvious that Democrats uphold these freedoms, as shown in many a protest. At the end of the day, it's easy to brand the Republican party as the Trump party, but until you do you do your research and find the reasonable and (gasp!) normal Republicans, (like Nikki Haley. She's cool) try not to jump to conclusions.