What we do have that you do not is an opposition leader who we know we are going to have to vote for. If they act credibly in opposition and argue for a different and better way they become electable over time.
If I was the GOP I would be running my candidate race now. Over time the winner would become a spokesperson for the Republican/conservative cause not just a potential Presidential candidate. That’s if you can find a candidate that sticks by the party line and works with others that form a consensus of what the party line actually is - not their own line. e.g. Marco Rubio has gone off the reservation on the immigration issue virtually excluding himself from leadership - at least that is the way it should be but he may still yet be in the race. There is little to no discipline within the GOP - it is each person for themselves and/or their constituents. The basic Party Platform needs to be written in stone by the party and not just individual elites and not negotiable for any candidate. Then it is just a matter of who is the best person to represent that platform. Maybe there are good reasons you don’t do it this way or maybe they are just historical relics best left to a bygone era.
That’s the route that Newt took running up to the ‘94 election. Unfortunately Newt was an unsteady hand on the rudder. We will see how Abbott does.