can you be friends with a conservative?

new to WLW/the community in general, just started dating my (f28) first girlfriend and came out in the last few months (woooo!)

one of my best girl friends from uni has always been a strong(ish) conservative and works in politics. we’ve gotten to points in the past of heated discussions but she has been someone I deeply connect with and cherish as a friend so we’ve always chosen to keep politics off of the table (and to maintain our friendship despite this)

my girlfriend is coming to meet my family/friends in the next few weeks and once I mentioned a little more about my close girl friend we got in a slightly heated discussion about even tolerating/having people in our lives who are conservative (because we’re gay, and because this is something I likely have never considered because it doesn’t affect me as a cis-gendered white woman).

while I understand her perspective, I’m not forcing her to meet her, and I certainly won’t be ending my friendship, but I’m curious to hear your thoughts.