Research co-authored by Dan Hopkins of the School of Arts & Sciences found that there isn’t necessarily a correlation between how conservative senators are based on their voting records and how conservative they’re perceived to by Republican activists. “For these activists, to be conservative is partly to support the Republican frontrunner/nominee,” wrote Hopkins and his co-author.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/03/romney-cheney-were-once-quintessential-conservative-names-then-conservative-changed/ The Washington Post