The seat was not Dede’s nor the GOP’s to give. Nor were the votes of the conservatives in her district hers by right. She still had to run a race and convince the electorate of her ability and earn their votes. If she can only poll 6%, then that’s all the power she had and the GOP (and her out of district supporters like Newt and others) backed a big loser.
She drew 6% WITHOUT running. She dropped out last week.