Exactly right. Conservatives have been so successfully demonized by both the GOP establishment and the leftist Democrats, that many folks shy away from any real conservative candidate.
Plus, these open primaries are rife with dishonest opportunists crossing over and voting in the GOP primary in order to skew the results. Having open primaries are one of the most idiotic things the GOP does....among a plethora of other idiotic, stupid things the GOP does.
Yup.