2016 field: Enter Mitt Romney?

[JRP1994]

https://twitter.com/PhilipRucker/status/553667215384670208

[tmthforu94]

Today is a great day for America. I look forward to helping the Governor breeze to the nomination and take down the Hillary giant.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

Not a real surprise if true. I think Romney deserves it more than Jeb, who is just running on his family name.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

I repeat, Romney is not going to run. Yes, he does want to be president, I don't deny that. But with Jeb essentially in, with Walker, Christie, and Rubio making serious steps toward entering, and with Kasich/Perry/Ryan/Pence as solid establishment alternatives, Romney's role, which is to prevent a fringe candidate from being nominated, is obsolete because there are candidates already nearly in the race preventing that. Therefore, Romney will stay out.

[retromike22]

Mitt Romney = Adlai Stevenson

[Mehmentum]

If Romney, Huckabee, Perry and Santorum all run, the primary would be like an awful mashup of the last 2 Republican primaries.

[morgieb]

I for one welcome the upcoming Republican clown car.

[SWE]

lololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol

[Angel of Death]

[Türkisblau]

And then he's going to run again in 2024!? Get a life Romney.

[Indy Texas]

I repeat, Romney is not going to run. Yes, he does want to be president, I don't deny that. But with Jeb essentially in, with Walker, Christie, and Rubio making serious steps toward entering, and with Kasich/Perry/Ryan/Pence as solid establishment alternatives, Romney's role, which is to prevent a fringe candidate from being nominated, is obsolete because there are candidates already nearly in the race preventing that. Therefore, Romney will stay out.

Romney shouldn't fear any of them.

Jeb is out of practice. He hasn't run a campaign since 2002. Campaigning has completely changed since then. The GOP is a very different place since then. He's not ready for prime time anymore. The only really good campaigner in that family is Dubya, who vowed never to lose another election after his 1978 congressional race. Poppy Bush just waited his turn. Jeb and George P. let their last name do the talking.

Scott Walker can offer red meat to the base, but he lacks charisma. Romney's biggest threat from Walker is the possibility that the Kochs would throw their hat in Walker's ring, but he has his own friends with deep pockets.

Christie is damaged goods. He doesn't know how to win a real GOP primary where social conservatives and rural voters have to be catered to. He's obnoxious.

Rubio has some skeletons in his closet that would more likely than not come tumbling out and allow him to implode in spectacular 2012-style fashion. He's too much of an unknown quantity.

Kasich is trying too hard to distance himself from the GOP and seems to be deliberately saying things that are going to be off-putting to primary voters. He could be this cycle's Jon Huntsman - a successful governor who gets a lot of media hype only to fall flat on his face.

Perry is going to stay in the race long enough to sell another book and earn a Fox News slot and then he's gone.

Pence and Ryan would probably rather stay in their current jobs.

[justfollowingtheelections]

Here's an article with more information on what he actually said: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-tells-donors-mulling-2016-white-house-run-215921309.html

It sounds like he's running.

[IceSpear]

[Maxwell]

Romney's got money but he's also got himself - a gaffe-ing, inhuman, inconsistent, no-position holding, completely uninspiring politico who's got a big name, a nice look and not too much else. The Mitt Romney brand is a weak one to me, and the Republicans, even with their destructive invisible primary, can do a lot better.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

The Washington Post presents it in even stronger terms that Reuters did.

"I want to be president,” Romney told about 30 donors in New York. He said that his wife, Ann — who last fall said she was emphatically against a run — had changed her mind and was now “very encouraging,” although their five sons remain split, according to multiple attendees."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-to-gop-donors-i-want-to-be-president/2015/01/09/ce5f821a-9848-11e4-aabd-d0b93ff613d5_story.html

Sheer ego is not a good qualification for President. An egotistical, multi-millionaire, elitist who has already lost once is far from the best the Republicans can do, even in their present state.

But it would be hilarious to see him run and end up with 47% of the vote, again.

[Mehmentum]

Romney does have some strengths.  He has a lot of experience in campaigning.  He has near universal name recognition.  He's proven that he can win the support of the majority of the Republican primary electorate (though that was against weak opponents).  He has a large donor base as well.

There are of course, plenty of obstacles to his candidacy.  Large portions of the base don't like him.  He now has to contend with Bush and Christie for establishment support.  He lost the general election against a fairly unpopular opponent, which calls his electability into question.  Not to mention, he still has quite a bit of baggage associated with him (his time at Bain capital, Romneycare, etc.)

[SWE]

He has a lot of experience in campaigning. 

Sure, but he's not good at it

[ElectionsGuy]

Mitt Romney = Adlai Stevenson

William Bryan, Thomas Dewey, etc.

[Maistre]

Romney running would kind of finish Christie off among the donor people doesn't it? Donors who worry about Jeb's capability of running a modern campaign have an alternative. Where else does Christie fit?

[IceSpear]

Romney running would kind of finish Christie off among the donor people doesn't it? Donors who worry about Jeb's capability of running a modern campaign have an alternative. Where else does Christie fit?

Certainly not any small places.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Mitt Romney = Adlai Stevenson

William Bryan, Thomas Dewey, etc.

I'd say some combination of Dewey and Stassen.

[pikachu]

If he does run, Romney would probably split the establishment with Jeb, which might create better opportunity for one of the more conservative candidates. It'd also make the primary even more of a clowncar than 2012.

[IceSpear]

If he does run, Romney would probably split the establishment with Jeb, which might create better opportunity for one of the more conservative candidates. It'd also make the primary even more of a clowncar than 2012.

It's almost certainly going to be a bigger clowncar than 2012.

Almost certainly running:
Bush
Paul
Christie
Cruz
Perry
Huckabee
Santorum
Jindal
Carson
Fiorina

May run:
Romney
Rubio
Walker
Kasich
Pence

Irrelevant and probably won't run, but one or two might surprise:
Bolton
Ehrlich
Gilmore
Graham
Pataki
P. King

[HAnnA MArin County]

It's kinda cute how Romney the Robot thinks he'll have it better this time around.

[Devils30]

Hillary would beat him more badly than Obama did.