As of this writing there are something like eighteen declared Republican candidates. Maybe a dozen or so that you might recognize on TV, while the rest are virtual unknowns. If you’ve paid any attention to the news lately, you’re probably familiar with names like Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Real political junkies might even know candidates like Carly Fiorina (one of the few prominent women in what is mostly an old boy’s club, incidentally) and Lindsey Graham. These candidates come from governor’s mansions, Capitol Hill and seemingly everywhere else. The only thing they have in common is the spot they’re running for – and only one of them will get it.

What separates our political system from many others is the primary election. Having voters choose their party’s nominee accomplishes a twofold goal. First, it puts the decision in the hands of the average voter – not some smoke-filled backroom of party elders. This makes the process more democratic, and ideally allows for a party to grow with its voters. The second goal is based on the old adage: competition breeds excellence. Pitting potential candidates against one another creates a trial by fire. All too often, candidates look great on paper, and it takes the rigors of a competitive campaign to expose weaknesses (hello, Sarah Palin, how’s it going, John Edwards?). The candidate that emerges victorious will be tempered by months of campaigning and will have united the party behind them – raring and ready to take on the opposition.

That’s how primaries are supposed to work, anyway. As we saw in the prolonged circus act that was 2012, things don’t always go as planned. When fringe candidates who don’t honestly stand a chance of getting the nomination are, somehow, able to tap into enough donors to keep their campaigns alive, they extend the primary process beyond its normal timeframe. Politicians like Michelle Bachman, Ron Paul, and Herman Cain – whether or not you think they would make a good commander-in-chief – never stood a snowball’s chance in Hell of securing the nomination. Sure, they may have all surged in the polls briefly, but that is the nature of the media spotlight such wildcards attract. Inevitably, Mitt Romney emerged victorious, but his campaign had been forced to spend money and time fending off attacks from the right that could have been better utilized targeting President Obama.

This next election in 2016 will be very different than 2012. While there are once again plenty of candidates, it is almost – barring a couple of the perennial fringe candidates – an embarrassment of riches at the top tier. The Republican National Committee, having learned from the last go around, has implemented several new policies in order to cut back on the amount of traction that longshots can gain. One of the biggest changes is that candidates must poll in the national top-ten in order to qualify for the first debate on August 6. So far, those who will be on the stage – with one notable, comb-overed exception who we will go without mentioning – all could reasonably make their case as contenders. It will be some time before a true frontrunner emerges.

So it remains to be seen who will be squaring off against Hillary Clinton (And yes, Clinton will get the nomination. Sanders is a blip on her radar). Personally, I don’t quite know for sure who I favor in the primary. What I do know is this: the Republican Party needs to do some real soul-searching. Accurate or not, we are characterized as the party of old, rich white men. We need a candidate willing to reach out to groups that Republicans have too long seemingly ignored – youths, women, African-Americans, Latinos. That doesn’t mean compromising conservative values. What we need is a candidate who can demonstrate that those same values – those of careful spending, individual freedom, strong defense against enemies foreign and domestic – can and should be held by everyone.

For too long, we have let Democrats paint us as the party of the past. We have forgotten how to define ourselves. The party of Lincoln has forgotten how to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the minority groups that once formed our bedrock constituency. The party of Eisenhower has forgotten how to unite a nation. The party of Reagan has forgotten how to communicate. I don’t know which candidate is the right pick, but I do know that we can’t afford to pick the wrong one.