Conservatism in the US was basically dead at this point. If he tries to run an anti-entitlement and anti-industrial policy campaign, I don't think he wins. Those things would only become unpopular among the broader electorate after the economic shocks and failures of the 1970s.
It should be noted, however, that the electorate was broadly won over to Eisenhower on the issue of foreign policy. His idea of fighting Communism was to do it abroad on a grand scale and not to get too overzealous about it at home, while the Taft wing of the party could be red-baited on the issue of isolationist sentiment regarding NATO while accused of busting down old ladies doors in the US looking for Communists at home. It was a line of attack that was only diffused because of Eisenhower's personal gravitas. Taft would lack that.
It would be more fair to say that the Democratic Party was a tired political force in 1952 that lost, rather than the Republicans winning. Taft would throw a wrench into that.