Well we tried that with Romney in 2012 against a vulnerable Obama and it didn't work neither. I'm sorry I just don't see any of the other candidates winning, all of them had huge flaws as well, that's why none of them could beat out Trump in the end. Or we would have been stuck with somebody "Dem-Lite", like Kasich.
Kasich was winning every poll against Hillary.
The fact is, a certain segment of the GOP voting base decided that an insulting, misogynistic demagogue would lead them to the promised land this cycle, and they cast their lot with him.
"Finally," they said "We have a man who will stand up to the Democrats, stand up to the media, stand up to the establishment."
Only now, they're finding out that that man is an ignorant narcissist who has no idea how to organize for a general campaign and really has no interest in taking on Hillary Clinton in any meaningful way. Instead, he's focused on intraparty battles and defending himself against a Gold Star family.
The blame doesn't just lie with Trump. A large part of it falls on his cult-worshiping sycophants who are easily duped.