and modernizers, the Republican Party rose to prominence in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln, who used the party machinery to support victory in the American Civil War. The GOP dominated national politics during the Third Party System, from 1854 to 1896, and the Fourth Party System from 1896 to 1932. Since its founding, the Republican Party has been the more market-oriented of the two American political parties, often favoring policies that aid American business interests. As a party whose power was once based on the voting power of Union Army veterans, this party has traditionally supported more robust national defense measures and improved veterans' benefits. Today, the Republican Party supports an American conservative platform, with further foundations in economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, and social conservatism. The Republican Party tends to be strongest in the Southern United States, outside large metropolitan areas, or in less-centralized, lower-density parts of them. Since the 2010 midterm elections, the Republicans held a majority in the United States House of Representatives until the 2018 midterms where they lost it to the Democratic Party. Additionally, from the 2014 elections to the 2020 elections, the Republican Party controlled the Senate. In 2018, the Republican party had roughly 55 million registered members, making it the second largest party in the United States. In the aftermath of the 2020 United States elections, the GOP lost their senate majority, and Chuck Schumer was appointed Senate Majority Leader in a power-sharing agreement with the Republican Party. Minor parties The United States also has an array of minor parties, the largest of which (on the basis of voter registrations ), are the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution parties. (There are many other political parties that receive only minimal support and only appear on the ballot in one or a few states.) Libertarian Party The Libertarian Party was founded on December 11, 1972. it is the largest third party in the United States, claiming nearly 700,000 registered voters across 28 states and the District of Columbia. it has 309 local elected officials, and one state representative: Marshall Burt of Wyoming. Former Representative Justin Amash, a former Republican and later independent from Michigan, switched to the Libertarian Party in May 2020, to become the first Libertarian Party member of Congress. Amash declined to run for reelection in 2020 and left office on January 3, 2021. The 2012 Libertarian Party nominee for United States President