Riddle me this: If conservatives aren’t a massive majority in the Republican Party, why are all these liberal candidates spinning so hard trying to convince Republicans that they’re conservatives??
Because more Republicans than you think do not define themselves as "conservative," but it's the conservative Republicans that ALWAYS vote in primaries. A lot of Republicans I've known are registered in this party, are fiscally and tax-wise VERY conservative, but middle-of-the-road on social issues. Many business-owners are, by virtue of having a self-reliant view of the world, skeptical of government in general. They vote Republican because they have a close-up view of how taxes and regulation can degrade a business. They worry much more about meeting payroll, making profits and staying in business. They have workers (and their families), who depend on them for a livelihood.
America is divided nearly 50-50 nowadays. A small minority of voters can swing the outcome of an election one way or the other by voting Democrat or Republican or merely by staying home.
When in front of a conservative group, a politician will claim to be conservative and, when in front of a liberal group, a politician will claim to be liberal.
Politicians are whores. It's as simple as that.