Conservatives recognize that the ground is shifting and a political realignment could be at hand, and are trying to figure out how to maintain control of the Republican Party. “The party of Reagan is about those conservative principles — nothing wrong with them being presented in a populist way — but the populist tone has to be rooted in conservative principles,” Jordan said. The Ohioan, a leader in the House Freedom Caucus, a group of ideological conservatives in Congress, is neutral in the 2016 primary.

Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, the group that sponsors CPAC, said that in fact he believes the conservative base is realigning. Schlapp conceded that there’s a danger that the new conservative base becomes diluted, reducing the influence of activists who believe in smaller government and other classic conservative principles. Schlapp said that he worried about that.

But he said that conservatives can’t use adherence to principles as a reason to ignore what voters care about, because it will reduce the movement’s impact on the political discourse and cause it to miss an opportunity to grow in numbers and influence.

“This coalition of conservatives and center-right people, I think we’re watching it realign. I think it’s changing before our eyes and I think that people are trying to figure out what that is. And, some people see the change and it just upsets them,” Schlapp said.