Unfortunately for them, Trump losing by say 12% and throwing even the House to the Dems tees up 2020 almost perfectly for Cruz, who would lose to Clinton or easily to Kaine barring a deep recession. I don't know where we go from there, but it's clear that there's a battle for the soul of the GOP between ideological conservatives and the emerging non-ideological nationalists. But as they try to sort it all out, they could get stuck in the position of the 1920's Dems until the next deep recession, give or take a short senate majority.
I'm still under the belief that Trump's appeal is specific to him, and I highly doubt this "Trumpist" wing will ever materialize in 2020. I'll wait to be proven wrong, but I predict a battle between the evangelicals and the establishment again, with the candidate who convinces run-of-the-mill conservatives he or she is their guy or gal will win. I'll wait to be proven wrong.
