The republican party *is* dead, and has been for a while. This is coming from a Trump supporter, so it's not exactly a biased opinion - Republicans suck. I don't think that the GOP represents their own set of values very well, their strategy of appeasement and making concessions has only led to their decline in key battleground states. It was infiltrated by a small wing I like to refer to as the "Trump Party" which somewhat revitalised the appeal, and this won't end with Trump. To quote commentator Ben Shapiro (IIRC), "this is not the beginning of the end, it's the end of the beginning". As older politicians are being replaced by younger representatives, Trump is going to be emulated since the approach obviously resonated with the crowds. Regardless of the outcome of the election, Trump pulled in people to the polls on higher numbers than any Republican candidate before him. I'm not certain a success like that is repeatable, but it will change the face of the party over the next decade.