I think I would agree that Dole intended to win.
I supported Buchan in ‘92 and ‘96.
I still don’t think he would have done any worse than Dole. And think he probably would have done better.
Buchanan would’ve picked up some working-class Democrats (many of whom who went for Trump in 2016), but too many of the suburbanites would’ve fled the ticket. The GOP would’ve written him off entirely (a la Goldwater in ‘64). As a result, it would’ve been enough for the Republicans to have swiftly lost Congress (1996 had been the first time since 1928 that the GOP had last won the majority two elections in a row to Congress).