The GOP has a demographic problem that won't reverse any time soon. Their base is shrinking, while the Democrats base is expanding. They need to reach over to the middle, but instead have leaned harder and harder on the base. Ironically, it has worked well for non-Presidential elections. We have more Republicans holding elective office than at any time in my memory and it's not really close. Having majorities in swing and purple states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have emboldened legislators to pass right wing agenda items that would have been thought of as unthinkable as recently as ten years ago. What does that have to do with the GOP debate? IMHO, the apparatus distills the candidates and no candidate can be seen as moderate. There are two types of Republicans--Conservative and more Conservative, and that isn't in line with the thinking of a majority of the populace. That said, with plenty of voter suppression tactics in place and the fatigue of having a Democrat in the White House for the last eight years, there is a decent chance that a conservative Republican could be elected.