Or take Joni Ernst, the state senator seeking the nomination for Iowa’s open Senate seat. Described by the Des Moines Register as “a Harley-riding Second Amendment advocate,” Ernst broke out of a crowded field of candidates with an ad that highlighted her experience castrating hogs—she urged voters to send her to Washington to “make 'em squeal.” Ernst was supported by Palin and the Senate Conservatives Fund—but she also got endorsements from Mitt Romney and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, both of whom have made it their mission to elevate mainstream Republicans in primaries this year. In a five-way race, Ernst needed 35 percent of the primary vote to avoid a second round at the party convention; she got 56 percent.

These candidates decided they could have it all: They could be conservative enough for the Tea Party without scaring the donor class. They succeeded in uniting the party’s warring factions by refusing to choose between the two sides’ priorities—ideological purity on the one hand, electability on the other. And they’re not alone. North Carolina’s Senate primary was won in the first round by Thom Tillis, the well-groomed speaker of the state House who boasted about leading a “conservative revolution” in state government. In Oklahoma, Representative James Lankford wasn’t Cruz and Palin’s choice, but he is a staunch conservative who had the support of many local Tea Party groups. In Georgia’s upcoming Senate primary runoff, Representative Jack Kingston, backed by both RedState Editor Erick Erickson and the U.S. Chamber, leads in the latest polls.

While those candidates won primaries by appealing to conservatives across the spectrum, others avoided such divisive contests altogether, like Colorado’s Cory Gardner, Michigan’s Terri Lynn Land, and Arkansas’s Tom Cotton. These hybrid Republicans tend to be quite conservative but not pure outsiders; their political pedigrees give party leaders confidence they won’t suddenly start spouting conspiracy theories or committing gaffes that turn into national headlines. As conservative commentator David Freddoso wrote in his Conservative Intelligence Briefing, “In many of this year’s competitive Senate races where there is no incumbent Republican, sound candidates have been found and endorsed on all sides who have kept everyone happy, from the ultras to the Chamber of Commerce.” Conservatives believe that, like a Korean taco, these "fusion" candidates combine the delicious flavors of two disparate political cultures.

In a Republican Party that has been torn for literally decades between its restive right flank and its pragmatic elite, candidates like these represent a potential synthesis that satisfies both sides. But they also represent a risky political bet. Lankford and Sasse face only nominal opposition in deep-red states, but the others are running in hotly contested races, and Democrats believe their conservative positions will make it hard for them to win general elections.