1996 Dole 37,816,307 2000 Bush 50,459,211 2004 Bush 59,130,092 2008 McCain 59,948,323 2012 Romney 60,265,579
My numbers came from this site:
Us election 2012: Republican recriminations as Romney gets fewer votes than McCain
With the final votes still being counted in Florida, Mr Romney had yesterday accrued 57.8 million votes to Mr Obama's 60.6 million, amid the lowest turnout in a decade.
In 2008, Mr McCain received 59.9 million votes while losing to Mr Obama. Mr Romney also attracted less support than John Kerry, who in 2004 received 59 million votes when he lost to Mr Bush.
The "With the final votes still being counted" part is likely why my numbers are wrong.
My assertion stands, however, that Rove is not conservative, he cultivates and promotes non-conservative candidates, and that those candidates will never engender enough conservative enthusiasm to win an election.