Probably because the split is between liberals claiming to be conservative and actual conservatives when it gets to the ballot box/the chips are down.
conservatism is a basic thing. It’s basically binary. Good/evil. The issue is people calling evil good as in the case of lesser evil/no matter what nonsense. Romney was not Good nor was he conservative Ergo he was never an option for any actual conservative following conservative principles. Which are America’s principles.
But you are probably right about reduced numbers. I can’t deny that. But there are still enough to ensure another Romney type will be denied election.
And who decides which conservatives are not real conservatives and therefore their votes did not split the vote? You? Do both Santorum and Newt count as real conservatives or not?