A case study for you from Oregon.
I know a lot of people here think Oregon is some left-wing kook paradise, but it is actually fairly reflective of the nation as a whole, but marginally more Democrat. Pres. Bush only lost Oregon in 2000 by a few thousand votes.
This past election, we nominated Ron Saxton to be the GOP candidate for governor. I voted for Jason Atkinson in the primary, but I bought into the argument that Saxton was the most "electable" GOP candidate in a generation. After all, he was facing a Democrat incumbent that was one of the weakest incumbent governors in the country. I supported Saxton, and contributed money to his campaign.
Saxton is pro-abortion ("pro-choice"), although he is at least against partial birth abortion, and for parental notification. His record on other issues of particular interest to conservatives was a mixed bag. He tried to position himself to the right of his former self, of course. He made an issue out of illegal immigration.
I wrestled with it, but supported him because I thought that he was the best of a rather meager slate of candidates. A pro-life conservative radio talk show host ran on the Constitution Party ticket, but she is pretty much a kook, believing in contrails and such.
Rudy Giuliani came out to Oregon and campaigned for Saxton.
In the end, Saxton lost badly. The Constitution Party candidate got 3-1/2%, but even if you added all the third party votes to Saxton's, he wouldn't have had enough to win.
The fact is, pro-life voters and certain other conservatives who were suspicious of Saxton's true views simply stayed home. It might not have been the right or smart thing to do, but that's out of our control. That's what actually happens.
That is what I'm afraid of if someone like Giuliani gets the GOP nomination.
Was that Victoria Taft, perchance?
I think that would be true if a candidate can't distinguish himself on other issues. On many issues Rudy isn't just acceptable, he is a charismatic, articulate advocate and leader. That's what I suppose has to be weighed.