Bush 1 lost after not acting like Reagan. Eisenhower was a war hero. Nixon, well, we know how that turned out. 2nd Bush, well, barely won, but did. Didn't do much for controlling the size of government. Putting up candidates just to put them up thinking they could win, well if they do, then what have you accomplished? Heck, Nixon gave us the EPA.
It was really sad when the establishment's choice, Romney, couldn't even beat the worst President in history. Again, not sure what's accomplished when/if they win.