Your corollary between between conservative US politics and conservative Catholicism is shaky at best.  Your average pew dweller, as well as your average voter, knows nothing of Tobin's and/or Cupich's understanding of Catholicism.  They likely don't even know who they are.  A better argument could be made that conservative media outlets did a better job stumping for their man. Sadly, our sound-bite ridden society reigns supreme in America and "conservative" sound bites play  right into the moral-high-ground mantra that wins people over... the veracity of which often goes completely unchecked by the  average voter--Catholic voters included.