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My analysis was only on the position they have in terms of votes, not on the issues. Romney won in 2012 with a series of pluralities. He got a clear majority in only 1 state, I believe.

That made it hard for him, and in states like Washington (where I live and attended the caucus) there was lot of shenanigans that went on to push him over the top.

My take is that the rules were altered so that a candidate like Mitt could win more easily with 40% or so. States that had proved troublesome had their rules altered.

For instance, Washington eliminated our caucus (which the Ron Paul forces had learned to dominate) and replaced it with a primary.

The unintended consequence is that a real outsider (Trump) has been the one to get to 40%, and he may well win the nomination with only that level of support, due to the odd rules.