What would happen to the Northern Democratic and Republican parties after a Confederate Victory?

[Jabe Thomas]

Let's say the war is lost under the Republican's watch along with a financial panic that follows when it becomes clear the Union is going to lose.

How could the Republican Party reform themselves to stay viable in elections?

With the loss of its Southern base, how would've the Northern Democrats have competed in the North?

Give me what groups they would seek and the change in platforms

 

[Dude-a-Buck]

Perhaps the Constitutional Union party stays around to fill at least a portion of the power vacuum?

 

[EnglishCanuck]

The Republicans had the virtue of being tied to the policy of Western expansion with Lincoln's Homestead Act and the construction of the Pacific Railroad. They also still had the free soil plank, which meant they would not expand slavery in the US, but also not necessarily fight for its elimination in the remaining slave states. The Democrats, though split, would still be a low tariff party, calling for good relations with the South, and expanded trade. There's room for each party to rework itself in the aftermath of the war.