By your logic, should we have dumped President Bush because of all the bad press over the 2000 election, etc. etc.?
By my logic? Obviously you can't grasp my logic. If George W. Bush was an unpopular politician thinking about challenging a sitting president and trailing in the polls, with no indication that he had the skills to turn things around, I would certainly NOT support nominating him as the challenger.
It's more like nominating Newt Gingrich for president. Why would you even go there? He's hated by Democrats, strongly disliked by independents, and not a favorite of even some Republicans.