Its that kind of thinking that lead to McCain in 2008. Sometimes standing on principals counts more than which way the wind blows. Otherwise people, such as the so-called independents, won’t trust the party.
Not sure 2008 is a good analogy. There wasn’t a solid Conservative alternative to McCain, and McCain ended up winning kind of by default as other candidates withered, not because people thought he was more electable. At least that’s my take on it in retrospect. If you look back at the field now, it is depressing.