Polls suggest that up to 30 percent of Republicans don’t want to vote for Donald Trump. They’re torn about what to do. Swallow hard and vote for Trump? Swallow harder and vote for Hillary Clinton? Vote for Gary Johnson, half of whose issues are totally contrary to Republican thinking?

These Republicans are in agony. But even if Trump loses big, their agony may just be beginning.

Trump may go away, but the voters who love him and won him 37 states will still be here. And the never-Trump Republicans will still have to deal with them.

There are two problems with Trump: (1) the man and (2) the message.

Even if the man – this intellectually empty, emotionally unstable, dishonest, disabled-mocking, insult-hurling, vain, narcissistic and dangerous basket case – leaves politics forever, he will leave behind a message that other Republican wanna-be’s will pick up.

Trump’s message will live on: the overt and covert racism, the Mexican-bashing, the Muslim-bashing, the free trade-bashing, the authoritarianism and – above all – the contempt for Washington politicians and the Republican establishment.

And the next messenger may not be as flawed as Trump.

The never-Trump Republicans may have lost their party forever.