Politicians want to get re-elected. If they feel their future re-election is threatened (e.g., a challenger made a substantial showing in the last primary), they will often (not always) adjust in an attempt to regain the voter base they lost.Why would he feel less inclined to RINO? He probably thinks, and apparently obviously so, that people will vote for him as the lesser of two evils. He has zero incentive to change if people vote that way.